One Boy One Girl
by LadyGreyDoom
Summary: Embry/OC - AH: Carrie misses her bus after school, and has to look to him for a ride home.    Little did she know how much he was looking forward to it.
1. The Ride Home

**A/N: Hi again all, I'll try to keep this short! This story came to me in a dream. It started out as a one shot, but with AJTOTHEEDS encouragement it has become a multi-chapter story! I have it about half-written, but barely BETA'd. (By the wonderful AJTOTHEEDS of course!) IF I can keep up, I am aiming for weekly or bi-monthly updates. Reviews may keep me motivated to finish up faster. ;) Please give it a chance. It's an Embry based story, and All-Human, but most if not all the pack will make an appearance. Okay, time to end this author note and let you read the first chapter. :)**

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><p>Listening to the teacher trying to teach a room full of antsy students is very entertaining, but all Carrie wanted was to get out of the classroom and be at home relaxing. Of course, that's all any student wants on a Friday afternoon.<p>

As the clock ticked down the final minute to three o'clock, the teacher gave up and wrote something on the board. As he sat down at his desk his last words were, "The assignment's on the board, due Monday." Carrie scrambled to write it down before the bell rang.

The loud, shrill sound of the bell sounded in the hallway; releasing a tidal wave of students out of classroom door as they headed for their lockers. Carrie worked her way through the crowd to her locker and pushed a couple that stood sucking face away from the front of hers so she could open the combination lock and get at her things. "Move it you parasites," she growled as they ignored her.

She grabbed her jacket and pack, shoving the books she needed into it as fast as she could. Her pack couldn't quite hold all her books for the weekend, so Carrie scooped up the last two, zipped up her pack, and wove her way through the other students.

"Hey watch it!" Carrie flinched as one of the Senior boys snapped at her after slamming into her side, causing her to drop her books.

"Sorry," she cried, crouching down to pick up the now stepped on textbooks. "Shit," she swore, noticing the ripped pages and a large footprint in the middle of her open math book, but she would have to wait until she was home to fix it. She carefully closed the book and sighed.

"Are you okay?" A voice behind her startled her into movement, causing her to drop the book she held, again. "Shit, let me help you with that." Carrie avoided looking behind her, but a pair of hands appeared in her vision and reached for her books. Quickly, she scooped them up again and nearly fell backwards in the process.

She blushed as he stopped reaching for her books and caught her before she fell. "I... I'm fine, really. I've got it." Now truly mortified at her clumsiness, she stood up and shrugged his hands off her arms. "I've gotta go," she whispered, "...bus."

Embry sighed and stepped back, letting her move away from him. He called out to try and catch her attention again, but she took off with out giving him a second glance. _Do I smell or something?_ He wondered. Behind him, his friends yelled his name and a few uncreative insults to get his attention. Something about his mama and how fat she was. Trying to be subtle, Embry sniffed to see if playing ball in the gym during free-period _had_ given him a nasty stench, but he didn't notice one. Shrugging, he turned and walked with the guys out to the student parking lot.

Racing outside, Carrie watched in horror as her bus pulled away from the curb and drove off without her, _again_. Looking around, she spotted her sister talking to friends in the school's student parking lot. Her sister looked right at her, then at the rapidly disappearing bus, and grinned. Before she could catch them to get a ride, the group of girls stepped into the car and drove off as well. Around her, the school grounds cleared quickly, leaving her with few options. At the far end of the parking lot, a group of Senior boys lounged against some large dirty trucks. One of them was her next door neighbor, _Embry Call_.

"No way," she mumbled. He wouldn't give her a second glance, and she knew it. She'd caught him giving her strange looks often enough, like he thought she was from another planet. Like last week, when she took out the trash, he'd watched her from his yard, leaning on the hedge and staring while pretending to trim the top. But, it was either ask him, or walk the several miles home on the side of the highway where she would get doused with water from all the passing cars. Clutching her books and pack tight, Carrie ducked her head and walked determinedly towards the boys.

Embry watched Carrie approach out of the corner of his eye while pretending to be focused on the sick joke Jared was in the middle of telling. She looked... scared he noticed, her body seems to shiver despite the determined frown on her face. He was sure she was going to yell at them for ruining her book and being so rude earlier, but then he noticed the quiet of the yard. The buses were gone and here she was, with no ride home yet again.

All conversation stopped as she stepped into their circle. Panicking visibly, she started to turn and walk away while berating herself for being so stupid. _Looks like it was time to put some wear and tear in these shoes_, she told herself.

"Hello?" One of the boys called out. Carrie recognized the voice as the one that had yelled at her in the hall. Risking being laughed at, Carrie looked back to see if he was talking to her. One of the tallest boys was looking directly at her, Carrie realized then who it was... Jacob Black.

"Hi... um... I... excuse me, I wanted to talk to Embry." Mortified, Carrie could feel her cheeks turning bright red even as she spoke.

"Yeah?" Embry replied as he stepped away from the others and stopped in front of her. Embarrassed, Carrie turned away and flinched as several of the guys started laughing at something. Behind her, Embry's hand hovered inches from her shoulder. The guys were laughing at the look on his face as he debated on whether or not to touch her. His hand dropped back to his side before she turned back partway to look at him.

"I was wondering... if it's not too much trouble... see my bus left without me and... well we're neighbors and... could I get a ride home?" Unable to look him in the eyes for long, Carrie kicked the dirt and turned away from him again.

Behind him, Jacob and Paul snickered and made kissy faces at each other to annoy him, but he ignored it and focused on the quiet girl in front of him. He knew her, even if she didn't notice him. Every morning she raced to catch the bus on time, and he tried many times to offer her a ride in his truck but she always blew him off, asking her mother to drive her instead. Every day after school was the same story. Her locker was on the opposite side of the school from her class, and opposite the main road where the buses picked up the kids, so she often missed it. She had finally come out of her shell for a moment and asked him for help, and he was determined to go for it.

Trying not to appear _too_ eager, Embry smiled and reached for her arm. "Oh... sure. Come on." Embry lightly gripped her elbow to get her to turn around before taking her books from her arms and pointing to his truck. Carrie gasped in shock, that was way too easy, she thought.

"Hey Call! What about the cliffs?" Carrie glanced back to see the crowd of boys watching them as Carrie followed Embry to his truck.

Embry shook his head and continued walking, stopping to unlock the passenger side door and help Carrie inside. "Next time, you guys go ahead."

As Carrie set her pack on the floor and accepted her books back from Embry, she risked a glance over her shoulder at the group of Seniors. They stood looking like they were in shock, as Embry ran around the front of the truck and climbed into the driver's side. He backed the truck up, driving past his friends who still had dumb slack-jawed looks, and smiled.

The short ride home consisted of listening to a local rock station, punctuated by light chuckles from Embry as he glanced down at his phone that vibrated on the seat next to them. The first time it began its dance, he picked it up to check the number before dropping it down again. It stopped, but started again moments later. The next time he picked it up, rolled his eyes, and chuckled again. By the third time he left it on the seat and just smiled and laughed.

Carrie watched curiously as it danced across the seat until it almost fell off and Embry caught it, only to toss it back against the seat and let it begin its dance again. As they reached Embry's driveway, Carrie was too curious to stay quiet.

"What's so funny?" She inquired.

Embry shrugged and laughed again. "It's the guys, they haven't stopped calling since we left. Probably trying to figure out why I drove you home."

"Oh..." Carrie blushed and ducked her head, wondering that same thing as well. Next door, she could see her sister and her friends all hanging out and leaning against a car while obviously trying to not stare at Embry's truck as it sat idling. Carrie knew her sister had a crush on him, and she would not leave Carrie alone until she knew what was going on right now in the confines of the cab.

"So..." Embry coughed and turned to her. "You miss your bus a lot?"

Carrie's tongue started to tie in knots, but she managed to blurt out, "Yeah, but the bus driver... he hates waiting for us!"

"I remember that," Embry admitted as he turned off the engine. "Meet me at my truck after school, I'll wait for you." The lack of the rumbling engine felt deafening in Carrie's ears. _He wants to give me a ride again, really?_ Embry smiled, and started to lean over towards her, but then stopped. Carrie could see it out of the corner of her eye. Turning away again and frowning, Embry got out of the cab and walked around to her side. She sat looking out the window and wondering what had just happened.

"O...o...okay," Carrie managed to stutter as Embry caught up her hand to help her out of the cab and walked her past the group of girls to her front door. The feel of his fingers entwined with her own was... comfortable, she grew more nervous realizing that she liked it, a lot. But after only a moment, he let go of her hand again. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Out of the corner of her eye, Carrie could see Embry watching her. _Stupid girl, he's just waiting for you to haul ass inside so he can go home, her inner voice snapped at her, he's probably already regretting driving you home. Why is he being so nice?_ Before she could make more of a fool of herself, she turned and opened the door, barely remembering to say goodbye before running up the stairs and into her room.

It was only when she lay sprawled across her bed that she realized what she had said. _"I'll see you tomorrow." What the hell was she thinking?_ Obviously her brain had stopped working. He must think her a real idiot now.

Walking back to truck for his bag, Embry wondered once again what he had done wrong. She had bolted inside the house so quickly it made his head spin. It looked as if she hadn't even noticed when he almost kissed her cheek in the truck, or when he had held her hand for a moment. _Stupid_, his inner voice snapped. But, he smiled as he hauled his bag inside to start his homework. She _did_ say 'see you tomorrow,' and he planned on doing just that.

Before the girls standing around next door could call out to him wanting his attention, he jogged up the porch steps and headed inside.

"Em?" Embry stopped as his foot landed on the bottom stair on his way to his room.

"Yeah mom?" When she didn't answer right away, he turned and walked into the kitchen.

His mom stood kneading bread dough and watching the television on mute. "Could you be a dear and take out the garbage and recycling, please?"

Damn, that meant he'd have to go back outside, where Ramona and her group stood giggling and gossiping. It's not that they were... bad, but he just didn't see why other guys thought they were so great. Knowing his mom would assume he was complaining about the chore if he grumped now, Embry waited until he was outside to sigh and growl. But he got lucky, the girls must have scattered up and down the little lane that held about a dozen houses. Next door, the front door clicked shut as he walked down the driveway to the curb.

x~x~x

"What were you doing, getting a ride home from _Embry freakin' Call_?" Ramona screeched as she flung open Carrie's bedroom door.

"I...I... well I had to get a ride home _somehow_!" Carrie shot back, wishing once again that she had a lock on her door. "You and your little group of twits didn't wait for me, and you knew the bus was already gone!"

"Well, I figured you would just call mom. I wasn't planning on going home right away anyway," Ramona huffed as she leaned against the wall. "But that's not why I came in here, he... he... he _kissed_ you! What the hell was that? You're only a Sophomore, he's a Senior!"

"And you're a Junior. Now that we have that established, what does that have to do with anything? Besides, he _didn't_ kiss me, just _almost_ did." Carrie snapped as she set aside her newly repaired math textbook.

"It has to do with the fact that Seniors don't date Sophomores, or even speak to them that often."

Rolling her eyes, Carrie picked up her battered copy of Othello. She needed to read a scene for English, and she wasn't looking forward to it. "So... it was only _almost_ on the cheek, he was being nice and chivalrous. That's all."

Looking even more annoyed, Ramona moved to drop onto the end of Carrie's bed. "I saw him kiss you in the truck... so did the rest of the girls. Even if it wasn't a kiss, as you claim, it looked like one. You know this is going to be all around the school by Monday morning. They can't resist good gossip, ever. The little rep you had... is now shot."

Carrie snorted and shrugged, her so-called 'rep,' didn't matter to her. This was high school, if you sneezed wrong you were tossed to the bottom of the social totem pole in seconds. "I don't care." In the following silence, Ramona's cell phone buzzed and danced in her pocket. "You'd better get that, it's probably the gossip girls you call friends looking for the latest news."

Ramona surprised her sister by pulling out her phone only to turn it off and toss it onto the bed between them. "So what. They can hound me on Monday." Her demeanor changed from harpy-gossip-bitch to big sister in moments, catching Carrie off guard. "So... whatcha reading?"

"Othello. I have to write an 'observation' on Act II, Scene III."

With a fake gag, Ramona flopped on to the bed. "I remember that play... lots of people die."

Carrie giggled, "Isn't that the case with _most_ of ol' Willie's plays?"

"You're right. Ugh, how depressing." Sitting back up, Ramona studied her sister's face. "Hey, do you mind if I bring my homework in here? We haven't studied together in a long time."

"Sure, I have a lot to do and company would be nice." Standing up, Carrie wandered over to her dresser and turned on her iPod dock. "Music?"

"Anything upbeat, please!" Ramona called as she skipped out of the room and down the hall to get her backpack. Carrie fussed with her playlists until she found one that qualified for her sister's request and started up the music.

x~x~x

Embry sat on his bedroom floor, leaning back into the side of his bed. Through his window he could see the faint light that attested to Carrie being in her room. Resisting the urge to sit by his window and stare at the stars rather than study, Embry reached up to close the curtains before turning back to his book.

Carrie's window must have been open slightly, because as he tried to focus on his studies the sounds of two girls giggling and music playing interrupted his thoughts. _Damn it_, he growled to himself. How was he supposed to concentrate with _her_ laughter teasing him, tempting him to go over there or toss something at her window to get her attention? He'd been tempted to do just that many times over the last few weeks, and it was driving him insane. Rather than losing the nice breeze in his window, Embry grabbed his headphones, jammed them over his ears, and played the loudest music he had. If he was going to attempt to see Carrie tomorrow, he had to focus on homework tonight or his mom would take away his truck keys for the weekend. Just as he opened his first textbook, his phone lit up with a text from Jake.

*Seacliffs, Saturday, Noon*

"Fuck!" Even through his headphones Embry heard his mother yell at him from down the hall, using his full name. "Sorry mom!" Groaning, he picked up the phone and hit 'Reply.' *Sorry, can't, got plans, don't ask.* To avoid further bitching from Jake, he turned off his phone and tossed it into the corner.

Over the music in his ears, Embry heard the squealing giggles of the sisters next door. It was enough to make him stand up and walk over to his window and pull aside the curtain. He could just barely see inside her window, and only a stretch of wall covered with posters and snapshots, but her blinds stood open, revealing the sight of two dancing shadows on the wall. He gave up and watched those shadows for just another moment, feeling like a creepy Peeping Tom, before sitting back down to his studies.

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><p><strong>Thanks for giving this story a chance, I hope you like it! ~Lady Grey Doom<strong>

**P.S. Nope, don't own Twilight, and don't claim to. I do however own Carrie, Ramona, and their parents.  
><strong>


	2. Ocean Dunking and Chili Cheese Fries

A/N: Here we go with chapter 2! Thanks for reading!

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><p>Waking up the next morning, Embry found himself still on the floor but with a pile of completed homework under his head. Risking hell from his best friend, he turned his phone back on. The one text he received intrigued him. It was from Jake, and one word.<p>

*Carrie*

He took his time gathering up his books and stuffing them in his pack before picking up his phone again and typing, *Yes.* He didn't know that Jake knew Carrie. Correction, Jake probably knew Carrie because he knew Ramona. She and her friends often tried to hang out with the guys after school, and Jake had let Ramona stand curled up against him more than once. Though she never seemed to pay as much attention to Jake as she did to Paul and himself. It had gotten so bad that Jake was considering asking her to Prom, if Bella said no, anyway. Just thinking of Bella made Embry laugh. Jake was whipped, even if he didn't know it, and he and Bella were only _friends._

In the shower, he planned out the possible things to do for the day, assuming Carrie wouldn't slam the door in his face. It was sunny enough that the beach would be nice, and since it wasn't summer, the tourists should be minimal. Maybe hit town for a bite to eat, then drive to Forks or Port Angeles for a movie. If she wasn't sick of him after that... nah she probably would be. _Don't kid yourself, you're lucky if she doesn't leave you at the beach._

Gathering up his things, Embry made it to the bottom of the stairs before the sound of his mom's voice stopped him in mid-stride.

"You said you would come by this weekend," she said in a near whisper, but the sound carried well in the house. "Fine, but I'm getting tired of you blowing this off. Your son needs you." A sigh followed by the sound of her hanging up the phone reached him next. He didn't have to ask, he knew who that was on the line. His father. The guy Embry had never met, and never wanted to.

His mom always talked to him when Embry was at school, or when she thought he was busy upstairs. But Embry always knew when she had contacted him yet again. Her spirit seemed broken after these calls, and nothing he could say would make her stop contacting his so-called 'father.'

Turning towards the living room, Embry called out to her, "Hey... mom?" He kept his steps slow, knowing she would be wiping away tears.

"Yes, dear?" She leaned back in the rocker she kept by the front picture window.

Embry walked over to stand behind her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going out... with a friend. That okay?"

"Who's the friend?" She asked as she tried to hide one last sniffle.

Embry turned his head and looked out the window, giving her a moment, "Carrie, from next door."

"Carrie Blackwell?" Out of the corner of his eye, Embry watched his mom smile at the name. "She's a sweetheart."

"I know," Embry whispered, mostly to himself. "I should get going."

His mom gave his hand a quick squeeze as she reached over to grab her purse on the bench under the window. "Hold on." She dug through it for a moment before handing him a few bills. "Have a good time," she said as she pressed them into his hand.

"Thanks, mom." He didn't look at what she had given him, shoving the money into his pocket as he smiled down at her.

"Go," she ordered, shooing him with one hand as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.

"Bye," he said, trying not to laugh. She was such a softie, she was probably already picturing them at prom together, or worse.

Embry smiled at the thought as he walked out the door.

x~x~x

Carrie stretched and used her remote to change the song on her iPod while watching the sun peek through the clouds and stream into her window. She and Ramona had managed to finish _all_ of their homework the night before and she had two days of relaxation ahead of her. Downstairs, her mom worked on a quilt, piecing together squares by hand and watching a movie. Down the hall, Carrie could hear Ramona talking on the phone with someone, and she hoped it wasn't one of the gossip hungry girls from yesterday.

Tired of being inside, Carrie turned off her iPod dock and pulled the iPod off of it while shoving her feet into sneakers. After popping the earbuds in, she danced down the stairs and to the front door while calling to her mom that she was going out. Still dancing, she opened the door, only to see Embry Call standing on the other side. "Embry! Hi!" Carrie blushed as she took in his appearance, scanning him from head to toe. His faded jeans and white v-neck t-shirt showed off his copper skin, while his hair hung slightly in his face and obscured his eyes.

"Hey. Well, you said 'see you tomorrow,' and I'm here." Embry admitted and chuckled. "Unless... you didn't mean it." _Please let her have meant it... please!_ He hoped she wouldn't turn him away. He'd watched her be a wallflower at school, at the beach; always hiding in her sister's shadow. Now, it was her turn, and Embry hoped to help her regain some confidence... and get himself a date in the process. If he was lucky, it would start today.

Blushing, Carrie stammered out a reply. "I...I... well I _did_ say that. I..." _What was it about Embry that makes me tongue-tied, _she wondered. In front of her, Embry took a step back, allowing her to walk out the door and close it behind her.

Embry smiled and leaned against the side of the house. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know... what did you have in mind?" To stop herself from fidgeting, Carrie shoved her iPod in her left back jeans pocket, and her hands in the front pockets.

"The beach? Or... just a walk?" Carried hid a smile as Embry groped for ideas.

"Sounds, perfect. A walk, on the beach." Embry grinned at her in relief. "Should I get my suit?" She asked.

"Well, I _am_ known for dumping people in the water, so you might want to do that." With a wink, Embry reached past her to open the front door. "I'll go put on my swim shorts and meet you back here."

Nodding in agreement, Carrie slipped back through the door and closed it behind her before racing up the stairs and stopping at her sister's open door.

"Ramona! Help me!" Carrie cried as she looked in at her sister.

"Hey, I gotta go," Ramona spoke into her phone before closing it. "What's up?"

"I need your help, Embry just showed up and asked me to the beach!" Carrie babbled before racing for her room. Ramona jumped off her bed and followed her sister down the hall.

"_Embry... Embry Call?_ Seriously! Oh my... holy shit! So, what's the problem?" Ramona dropped on to the bed to watch Carrie digging through her dresser.

"I don't know which swim suit to wear." Carrie admitted while pulling out two suits. "One-piece conservative, or two-piece skin-shower?"

Ramona grinned and studied the suits. "Well... if it were _me_, the two-piece. But... that green one-piece is really cute. Go for that one." Carrie nodded and scooped up a beach bag, tossing a pair of sandals and her iPod into it. "Get changed, I'll get you a towel."

Carrie changed into her swim suit and put a change of clothes into her bag before donning the jeans and t-shirt she had put on that morning. When her sister returned she added the towel and shoved her feet back into her sneakers. "Thanks Ramona. I gotta go, he's probably waiting."

"Haha... yeah you'd better not keep him waiting," Ramona teased as she followed Carrie down the stairs and out the door to where Embry stood waiting on the porch. "Hey, Call, you'd better be good. This here is my baby sister and I'll kick your ass if you hurt her."

Watching as Embry fiddled with the keys in his hand, Carrie smiled. He actually looked nervous. "Yes ma'am. Does your baby sister have a curfew?" He asked while winking at Carrie.

"Midnight, one minute past and I'm on your case." Ramona mock threatened. "Well, you two had better get going before this sunshine goes away."

"Thanks Ramona," Carried whispered while giving her sister a hug. "Call me if mom freaks out?"

"You got it, now go!" Ramona gave Carrie a gentle push towards Embry, who caught her elbow just like he had yesterday and led her down the porch steps and to his waiting truck.

x~x~x

Together, Embry and Carrie sang along to the radio and laughed as Embry drove them to the beach. Carrie proved she wasn't as shy as she looked when she messed with his radio as soon as she sat down, and was dancing in her seat before the first song had ended. He didn't know if it was the music, the sunshine, or _him_ that made her this way, but he liked it. The few clouds that hung on the horizon slowly dissipated, making the mood lighter as the threat of rain disappeared as well. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as they pulled into the parking lot to the beach to see if she wasn't ready to get out of the truck. He'd drive all day with the music on and windows down if that made her happy.

Embry found an empty parking space and helped Carrie out of the truck before pulling a blanket and small cooler from the back. Carrie led the way, carrying her bag and Embry's backpack over her shoulders. Once their things were laid out on the blanket, Carrie peeled off her t-shirt to soak in as much of the sun's warmth as she could.

Watching her, Embry nearly lost focus on why he'd asked her out today. He'd assumed today would be a totally innocent, relaxing time; but his hormones flipped out of control just at the sight of her bare back. He quickly decided he needed to cool off, but wanted to still be near her. The best way to do that... head for the ocean of course. Stripping off his shirt, jeans, and shoes, Embry leaned in as he moved up behind her.

"Those jeans had better go, too," Embry whispered.

"Ugh... why?" Carrie asked, but pushed off her sneakers and peeled off her jeans anyway. His chuckle was her only warning before he picked her up in his arms and ran straight for the ocean waves. The fact that she was leaning into his bare chest suggested he had shed all but his swim trunks, so he obviously planned this. She started to squeal, but held her breath instead, just in case he dunked her. The water covered their heads for a moment before Embry stood up and pulled a shivering Carrie up with him. "That's freaking cold!" She screamed as she clung to his shoulders.

"Yeah... oceans usually are," Embry teased as he hugged her shivering form closer. His long hair fell into his face, dripping water into his eyes. Growling quietly, he shook his head to get it out of his eyes and sprayed her face with salty ocean water.

Carrie snuggled against his chest and pouted. "Evil boy," she murmured and glanced over his shoulder at the nice dry blanket waiting for them on the beach. Even as she shivered, being in his arms warmed her up quite nicely.

Her snuggling against him so sweetly was doing nothing to solve Embry's problem below the waist, but he took a few deep breathes to help calm himself. To gain more time Embry lifted her a little higher in his arms before speaking again. "I never did check, are you a swimmer or just a splasher?" It was then that Carrie noticed his tightened grip on her in the armpit-deep water.

"I like to swim, just not always in the ocean," she admitted. Embry nodded and loosened his grip on her legs so she was floating in the water with him, but his arms stayed loosely around her waist. Carrie guessed that Embry was at least six inches taller than her, meaning that if she let go of him right now, she'd have a hard time touching bottom and keeping her head above water.

When she shivered again, Embry turned and began to walk back to shore. "You're cold... lets go dry off."

"I'll be fine, I'm getting use to it," she insisted, but Embry shook his head.

Back on the beach, she dried off quickly before stretching out on the blanket. The sun was up high in the sky now, and warming her up quickly. Unaware she was doing so, Carrie drifted off to sleep in under the warm sun's rays.

Embry smiled, stretched out, and watched her sleep for a moment. Under his gaze her skin caught his attention. She was a shade or two lighter than him, and if she slept for too long in this sun, she would surely burn. Girls always carried everything they needed, so Em assumed she would have sunblock in her bag. He felt a little guilty opening it up, but the sunblock sat right on top so he was saved from digging through her things. Using a light touch, he slowly covered her cheeks, nose, and forehead with the lotion while brushing her raven-dark hair away with the back of his hand. She didn't stir under his fingers, so he gently did the same to her shoulders and down both arms. Carrie stirred under his touch as he as he finished rubbing the lotion into backs of her hands.

The feel of someone massaging the back of her hand brought Carrie back out of her slumber, and she wondered if she had fallen asleep at the massage place she went to every couple of months. It was too bright and noisy though, and the hand touching hers was definitely not a female's.

"Good morning, sleepy." She knew that voice... it was Embry Call's. Turning her face to the voice and opening her eyes revealed Embry stretched out next to her, still holding her hand in one of his, her bottle of sunscreen in the other. He smiled a sheepish smile and help up the bottle. "I was worried you would burn if you didn't put some on."

"Oh, thanks." It should have creeped her out knowing he was touching her while she slept, but it was such a sweet gesture that she let it go. Sitting up, she took the bottle from him and quickly rubbed sunscreen on her legs before laying back down again. She didn't notice when they started talking small talk after that, but it was relaxing to talk about absolutely nothing. The sun crawled across the sky above them, ticking off time and shining down.

A light touch on the back of her hand brought her back to the present. Embry sat up next to her and held out his hand. "Wanna go for another run in the water?"

"Sure, no dunking this time," Carrie warned. Nodding in agreement, Embry stood and raced ahead of her. Carrie stood and chased him into the water, but _he_ caught _her, _spinning around and scooping her up in his arms before they got too deep.

"What do you wanna do next?" He asked as he spun her around.

"Food," she suggested in between giggles.

"Your wish is my command," Embry stated before pushing off into deeper water.

x~x~x

"So, where did you want to go?" Embry questioned Carrie once they settled back into his truck. They had changed clothes at the beach so their wet suits lay now on towels by Carrie's feet with the heater drying them. "It's early enough yet we could go to Port Angeles."

Carrie contemplated his question as he left the beach and drove back into La Push proper, "Can we hit that place... Peaks Brew Pub?"

Embry laughed and nodded, "Sure... but why there? You're not secretly 21 are you?" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and winked.

"Nope, I just love their chili cheese fries." Carrie admitted and blushed. Next to her, Embry began to laugh even harder.

"Are you a secret junk food addict?" He asked as he glanced over at her.

She giggled and shook her head, "Hell no, I came out of _that_ closet years ago."

For a few moments, they both sat and chuckled as Embry drove towards Port Angeles. Carrie expected the silence that followed to be awkward, but as it stretched out she stretched out and relaxed. Twisting around so she could look at Embry, she pulled her legs up onto the seat between them and sighed. She started to stretch her legs out, but stopped before they bumped into Embry's thigh.

What he did next shocked her. Before she could pull back her legs, he caught both of them around the calf and lifted them to rest across his legs. "Relax, we've got a long drive to go."

"O.. okay." She stuttered, shivering as he absently massaged her ankle.

Her thoughts drifted as they rolled along the road. Embry had turned the radio back on at a low volume, and they chatted about random things that came up on the quick news blurbs between songs. As they passed through Forks, Carrie saw her sister and friends in the parking lot of the diner there. _Good thing Embry suggested Port Angeles, _she admitted to herself. She did not need more looks from that crew.

At the brew pub, Embry ordered up their chili cheese fries and some other equally greasy foods while Carrie watched the waitress. She looked to be Embry's age, and very pretty, but Embry barely glanced at her as he ordered before turning back to Carrie.

"So... um... did you get your homework done? You had Algebra to do, right?" Embry asked as he fiddled with his napkin and smiled up at her while folding and refolding it.

Carrie chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, it was easy though. The Othello essay was the worst."

**"**_A bunch of people end up dead, the end._" He rolled his eyes and smiled.

The waitress showed up with their drinks and chili cheese fries then, saving Carrie from more small talk about homework, but now she was wondering how he knew she had Algebra homework. Shoving the thought to the side, she concentrated on finding the fry with the perfect ratio of chili and cheese that would still be crunchy.

Embry watched Carrie pick out the perfect fry, letting her have first crack at it. She ate it all in one bite, leaving a tiny bit of gooey cheese on the corner of her mouth.

"You have a..." Embry paused and reached out with his thumb, "... bit of cheese." As his thumb brushed her lip and wiped off the cheese, her tongue poked out to lick off the offending bit. The resulting lick that barely brushed his thumb went straight to his loins making him hard instantly.

"Sorry," she whimpered as she blushed bright red.

He shrugged in answer, noticing that there was still cheese on his thumb. Rather than wasting it, he brought it to his mouth and sucked it clean. "Mmm... good stuff." Carrie blushed a darker red as she watched. To save her from being even more embarrassed, he scooped up a few fries and ate them.

"You have a..." Carrie started to say, pointing to his mouth. Embry smiled and waited. When she realized _he _wasn't going to clean up his face, she grabbed his napkin and wiped off his cheek before handing the now dirty napkin back. "Let me guess, your mom has lots of pictures of you as a kid with food on your face."

"Doesn't everyone?" He quipped back.

"Touché," she shook her head and laughed before reaching for another fry.

x~x~x

When the waitress brought the check, Embry opened the black folder to put in his cash and watched as a slip of paper fell out. It was pink, with girlie handwriting. _The waitress's phone number, _he realized just before Carrie picked it up and glanced at it. Snorting, Carrie handed it to him, "I think this is for you."

"No way, I saw her smiling at you. Clearly, it's meant for you." With a wink, Embry handed it back and snapped the folder closed, setting it on the edge of the table. Listening to Carrie's giggling response, he laughed himself.

"Well then, I guess I'll keep it," she giggled and shoved the number into her front pocket of her jeans. "I might call her if I have nothing to do next weekend." Leaning across the booth towards him, Carried smile and stuck out her tongue. "What next?" She asked.

"Movie?" Embry suggested, leaning towards her as well.

"Maybe," Carrie responded with a shrug. "Let's go see what's playing, anyway."

There was a theatre within the shopping complex, so they walked together down to the lit up marquee and check out the posters.

"Too bloody... too boring... too cartoon-y... _too stupid_..." Carrie stated as she walked down the row. Next to her, Embry made mental notes . "How bout this one?" She asked, then swore, "We just missed it!"

"Maybe you can take the waitress to it next weekend," Embry joked as she pouted for a moment.

"Or, someone else could go with me," she suggested with a smile and looked him in the eyes, then blushed bright red as she looked past him.

Behind him, Embry heard a male voice that sounded a little familiar mutter, "Guess he likes 'em young..." Before Embry could react, Carrie winced visibly before she turned and walked away. He spun on his heel to follow her, and ran directly into Jared.

"Couldn't hang out with us... but you had time for Ramona's little sis, huh?" He asked with a wink, looking over his shoulder at the rapidly retreating girl. "You'd better go catch her. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah yeah, tomorrow on the cliffs?" Embry scowled and walked around Jared and towards where Carrie had gone, fighting the sudden urge to punch one of his best friends.

"Yup. See ya." Jared laughed and turned back to his girlfriend, Kim, who stood watching Embry's retreating figure.

"You guys shouldn't give him so much grief," she mused. "He's sweet on her."

"But Honey... that's exactly why we _have _to give him grief. Come on... let's catch this one."

Kim rolled her eyes as he pointed at the bloodiest movie poster on the wall. "Nope, that one." She pointed at the far end. It was bloody too. _At least the lead guy is cute, _she observed before Jared paid for their tickets and they headed inside.

Carrie stood leaning up against Embry's truck when he finally reached her. "Carrie... what's wrong?" Embry asked as he approached her. Her face still looked beet red and she wouldn't look up at him.

"Nothing," she whispered. Embry knew that tone, it said '_I'm too embarrassed to say, now leave me alone!'_

"Do you want to see if we can catch that movie at another theatre?" He asked, feeling hopeful.

She shook her head and kept staring at her feet. "No... can we just go back? I'm tired."

"Sure." Catching her hand, Embry led her around to the passenger side of the truck and helped her in. "It's getting late anyway. And Ramona has a mean threat. Let's get you back."

On the ride back, he turned on the radio to fill the silence and watched her out of the corner of his eye. He considered trying to strike up a conversation, but she sat turned towards the window and seemed to be ignoring him.

At the house, she got out of the truck before he could make it around to meet her, and walked ahead of him at first. At the end of the driveway she slowed and turned to him. "Sorry I ruined our day out," she mumbled.

"You didn't. I had fun. I wish you would talk to me though." He reached up to brush the hair from her face. Before he could brush the offending lock of hair our of her eyes, she twisted away from him and frowned.

"You're a Senior, I'm a Sophomore. Guess I just needed a reminder." With that parting shot, she ran up the driveway and left him standing alone, feeling like an idiot.

He was still thinking over her comment as he collapsed on his bed. They'd been doing so well, what happened? He mused over the conversation in his head. He'd teased her about the waitress, but she'd reacted fine... or had she. _Dammit, _Jared and Kim were right behind him. She'd been suggesting they go out on a date next weekend, and gotten embarrassed by Jared's stupid comment. "Embry, you idiot!" He growled. It was too late to go over and see her now, he'd have to catch her in the morning.

He fell asleep creatively cursing the unknown person that had started that whole 'Seniors/Sophomores' shit. What did two years difference mean anyway?

x~x~x

Reaching the top of the stairs, Carrie slowed. She didn't want to risk alerting Ramona to the fact that she was home. She didn't want to talk about the date, thought she didn't want to call it that, and Ramona surely would want to know details. Besides, Kim had seen them, so Romona would hear it from someone by Sunday afternoon.

_Why, oh WHY did I even attempt to ask him out? _ _Idiot! _It made it worse that Kim and Jared had witnessed her humiliation. Though Embry had seemed clueless to her awkward attempt. Maybe it would all be forgotten by Monday, maybe.

Before going to sleep, Carrie emptied out her beach bag and caught sight of the bottle of sunblock Embry had so sweetly used on her face so she wouldn't burn as she slept. _Stop it, _she ordered her mind, _stop thinking about sweet, cute, Embry Call. _

Setting her things on her dresser, she glanced out the window and noticed that Embry's light was still on. _I wonder if he's still awake. _Sighing, Carrie closed her blinds and grabbed her iPod, putting it in her ears and turning it on before starting her nightly routine. The sooner she forgot about him, the quicker she would fall asleep.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading the second chapter of my story. Once again, don't own a damn thing other than Carrie, her mom, and her friends.


	3. Stuttered Apologies

**A/N**: Hello! Thanks for reading, again. And thanks to **AJ** for being so sweet and helping me work on this even though we have so many other stories to work on!

Like usual, I don't own a dang thing except for Carrie's family and her friends: Sarah and Lucy. Enjoy!

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><p>Music still played in her ears eight or so hours later when a hand shook her awake and pulled her earpiece out of her exposed ear.<p>

"Carrie, hon. You have a visitor downstairs." Her mom smiled as Carrie forced her eyes open and studied her mom's face.

"Who is it?" she mumbled while rolling over and pulling out the other earpiece.

Satisfied that Carrie was awake, her mom moved to the doorway before replying. "It's the neighbor boy, Embry Call."

"What?" Carrie slipped as she attempted to stand up out of bed, landing on her ass.

"Embry. Call. The boy you went out with all day yesterday and didn't bother to tell me." Her mother teased. "Now, hurry up. He's waiting." Bopping her daughter on the nose, she laughed and walked out of the room, leaving her dumbstruck daughter behind.

"Fuck." Carrie groaned and carefully stood up while rubbing her sore butt.

"I heard that!" He mother called out in the hallway.

Wincing, Carrie blushed as she answered, "Sorry!"

She quickly changed into jeans and a baby-doll tee, brushed her hair and brushed her teeth before jogging down the stairs. Embry sat in the entryway fiddling with his keys, looking up as she rounded the corner.

"Hey," she greeted him, trying not to blush.

"Hey," he said as he smiled up at her, "can we talk?"

_Dammit, _she cursed internally. _He's regretting yesterday, I know it._ "Sure," she mumbled and pointed to the front door. They walked outside and around the side of the house to stop and sit on some rocks jutting out of the ground by the woods. "So... what's up?" She asked, wanting to get the humiliation over with.

"I... I wanted to clear up some stuff, from yesterday." Embry ducked his head for a moment, shoved his keys in his pocket, and turned to grab her hands. Carrie started to speak, but he rushed on. "I was an idiot, I shouldn't have teased you so much. I...I... I didn't know Jared and Kim were there." Carrie started to speak again, she wanted to tell him how sorry she was for ending the date so soon, but he let go of one of her hands and covered her lips with a finger. "All that Senior/Sophomore shit, I don't believe in it. I hope you don't either. If people start talking, ignore them. I... I..." He started to say, _I like you, _but stopped himself. It was too soon. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Carrie watched as he let go of her hands, stood up, and jogged around the side of the house and out of sight. _Come back, _she called out in her head, debating on if she should go after him. _Why didn't he let me talk?_ She wondered.

Feeling like she was still dreaming, Carrie stood up as well and walked in a daze through the back door of the house and up to her room.

x~x~x

"Yo! Call! Glad you decided to show up this time!" Jacob taunted Embry from the clifftop before launching himself into the air and diving in to the cold water below. Embry jogged up the last few yards through the woods to join Jared, Paul, Quil, and Sam at the rocky cliff edge. He paused long enough to push his shoes off his feet and strip off his shirt, then ran straight to the edge without a word of greeting. The feel of the cold ocean air, then the freezing cold ocean water, brought him out of the daze he'd been in all morning since making a fool of himself _again _with Carrie. Swimming alongside Jacob to the shore, he smiled.

What he had babbled to Carrie had been, well... a lot of babbling without thinking. But now he knew he meant every word. He'd wait a few days, then ask her out again. Maybe next time they could go somewhere more quiet, away from all the crowds.

A hand on his shoulder shook Embry out of his wandering thoughts. "Hey... Em... wake up. Let's go." Jacob gave him a light shove before jogging ahead of him back up the meandering path to the cliff edge. Embry quickly caught up, and they both slowed to a walk.

"Hey, Jake... what do you think of Carrie Blackwell? Really." Embry stared at the ground with the excuse in his mind that he was looking for sharp rocks so he wouldn't cut his feet, but he knew he was avoiding Jacob's eyes.

Jacob chuckled, "What do I think of Carrie Blackwell? She's cute, shy, and well..." Embry sighed, thinking about Carrie as they walked along. Those eyes, the lashes that framed them, that smile. As he mused on her, Jacob whacked him lightly on the back of the head. "You should ask her out. _Again._"

Embry rubbed the sore spot on his head with one hand while swinging at Jacob with the other. "I plan on it."

"Good," Jacob said as he nodded and ducked the fist aimed at his head. "Beat you down!" He called out as they reached the top of the cliffs before racing ahead of Embry and launching off the edge yet again.

x~x~x

Monday morning Carrie jogged out to the bus, working her way to the last seat before glancing out the window towards Embry's truck. When she didn't see him, she felt oddly disappointed. At school, she started to look for him, but realized after a few minutes that she had no clue which locker was his. Another search before class proved that Jacob, Paul, Quil, and Jared were nowhere in sight as well.

Her locker was blocked, like usual, so she shouldered the face-sucking couple to the side before twirling the combination lock and opening it. Behind her, Ramona's voice lifted above all the others.

"No... he didn't _kiss_ her..." Carrie lost the rest of what Ramona said to the sounds of the noisy hallway. She _hoped _that what she had heard was not about her and Embry, and probably wasn't when you considered all the gossip flying around the school, but she decided to keep her head down and just make it through the day.

Lunchtime brought a still Embry-less day, so Carrie settled into her usual spot at the corner table with her friends.

Lucy sat down across from her and smiled before launching into her questions. "So... you and..."

"Don't go there... please Luce!" Carrie pleaded, contemplating throwing her plate of mashed potatoes at the table of girls who were obviously circulating the newest rumor - of her and Embry.

"So you _didn't _kiss Embry?" Sarah asked as she sat down next to Carrie.

"No, okay." She sighed, "Come on... you know me better than that. If anything had happened, I would have called you squealing and dancing." Never mind that she _hadn't _told them about her semi-date with Embry Saturday. _Oops._

Not being deterred, Lucy took a drink of her milk without taking her eyes off Carrie's face. "Did he _at least _drive you home Friday?"

"Yes..." she hesitantly answered, "_But, _only because we're neighbors, I was stuck here, and I asked him." When Sarah started to ask another question, Carrie cut her off with a frown. "Please... not here, not now. Call me tonight?" Both girls nodded enthusiastically, and their table lapsed into silence for the rest of the lunch period.

When the final bell rang for the day, Carrie beat most of the students in her class out the door and raced to her locker. If Embry wasn't here today, of course he wasn't there to give her a ride home, so she _had _to make her bus. She had no homework, so she scooped up her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. Outside, she turned towards the bus and ran into one of Ramona's friends who was walking the opposite direction with another girl.

"Oh my god... Shelly! Embry's here... see!" Carrie followed the point of her hand out of the corner of her eye. _Embry? _ There he was, leaning back against the back of his truck and looking around. "I thought he was sick," the girl continued, now fussing with her hair and pulling out a make-up compact at the same time.

"That's what I heard too," Shelly replied before noticing that Carrie was standing right there. "Geeze, eavesdrop much?" She snorted before pulling the other girl away. "Anyway, lets go see if we can get a ride home!"

Carrie cringed and started towards her bus again when she heard _his _voice. "Carrie!" She turned back to see Embry jogging towards her, his t-shirt and hair plastered to his wet skin. She smiled when Shelly and friend tried to catch his attention and failed.

"Why are you all wet?" Carrie asked as he reached her.

"I'll tell you in a minute," he offered as he took her backpack and motioned towards his truck with one hand. As they walked, he caught up her hand in his free one and curled his fingers through hers. Electricity seemed to shoot through her fingers and up to her elbow at his touch.

Carrie's patience grew thin as her curiosity got the best of her. When they cleared the edge of the building and neared his truck, she stopped and pulled him up short. "Explain," she requested.

"Get in the truck first, please? I don't need a teacher catching me here." Carrie nodded and jogged the final few yards to his truck. He opened the door and helped her in before jogging around and getting in the driver's side. Once they were on the road and moving away from the school he glanced her way. "I skipped. Well, the guys and I all did. It was the _perfect _day to hit the beach and go cliff diving."

"So you skip school, go cliff diving, and then come back to school at the end of the day... risking getting caught?" She laughed and shook her head while smiling at him. "Crazy boy, _why_ did you do that?"

"Because," Embry shrugged, "I promised you I would drive you home."

"_Home... _is that way," Carrie stated while pointing over her shoulder.

"We're not going _home._" Embry said with a smirk.

"Okay... why not?" Now very curious, Carrie sat back and relaxed into the seat while scenery flew by the window.

"Because, I don't feel like it." He grinned and looked at her as if his answer were the most obvious one ever. "Do you have homework? It didn't feel like there was any in your bag."

"Nope, but mom is expecting me home."

Embry wiggled and maneuvered, eventually pulling his phone out of his back pocket, and handed it to her. "Call her, tell her you're homework free and with a friend."

"Fine, but then you have to tell me where you're taking me." She waited for his nod of agreement before dialing the house phone number and waiting for her mom to answer. "Hey mom... yeah, I'm coming home later, is that okay?" She listened to the questions her mom rapidly threw out before continuing. "I'm with a friend, they're driving, I don't have any homework, we're probably only going as far as Forks..." she looked up at Embry and he nodded, "... and I'll call if I'll be out past supper." Once her mom was satisfied, Carrie ended the call and handed Embry back his phone.

He didn't say anything more for a minute, but by then they were inside Forks' city limits and he turned onto the street with the movie theatre. "Movie... I checked the times, we should make it _and _have time to grab snacks."

With a grin, Carrie waited until he opened her door and helped her out of the truck, then slipped her arm through his for the short walk into the building. Embry bought tickets, popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and a giant Coke before they walked into the dark theatre and made it just in time for the previews to start.

Since the room was nearly empty, Carrie propped her feet up on the empty seat back in front of her and leaned back while pulling the armrests of her seat up. Embry did the same on her left. They sat in comfortable silence for the whole movie, laughing at the jokes and passing their snacks back and forth. As the ending credits rolled, Embry offered her the last handful of popcorn and the final sip of Coke before they got up to leave.

"We should do this again," he casually said as they walked out into the brighter main lobby of the theatre.

"Yeah, maybe," Carrie replied while watching him out of the corner of her eye. Embry smiled widely at her response.

At the truck, he paused before opening her door, "Did we want to go do anything else?" The tone of his voice was hopeful.

"Not tonight, I should get home." She sighed, but smiled up at him.

Embry didn't respond to that, instead he helped her into the truck and got in himself. Carried turned on his stereo as soon as the engine roared to life, finding a good song and singing along as Embry drove them back to La Push.

Unlike the night before, Embry walked Carrie all the way to the door after the movie. This time they relaxed on the porch for a few minutes before Carrie spotted the time through the living room window. "I should go," she whispered as she stood up from the porch steps.

Embry caught her hand and tugged on it to keep her from leaving quite yet. "Ride with me to school tomorrow?" He requested as he smiled up at her.

"Sure, what time?" She asked as she returned his smile.

Standing up, Embry's grin grew wider. "Twenty minutes before first bell... so... 7:35. I'll be waiting."

"I'll be ready," Carrie answered before giving his hand a squeeze and opening the front door.

Embry waited until she closed the door before jumping down the porch steps, running across the lawn, and vaulting the hedge between their yards.

x~x~x

Carrie laughed as she leaned against the window frame and watched Embry jumped over the hedge. He'd looked so sweet asking her to let him drive her to school... she'd almost leaned in and kissed his cheek. Hell, she was starting to want to kiss more than his _cheek_.

Sounds and smells wafting from the kitchen told her that everyone else was already home and probably finishing up supper, so she had better make her way into the kitchen, soon. But first she closed her eyes and leaned against the cool glass, thinking about the feel of Embry's fingers brushing the back of her hand in the movie theatre. He hadn't gone so far as to hold her hand, but maybe next time.

_Maybe... this weekend. _The thought of hanging out with Embry again made her smile and blush, while the thought of what the girls, and Ramona, would say... never entered her mind.

After supper, Carrie stretched out on her bedroom floor with the new Joe Hill book in her hands. For the first time since she arrived home, the phone rang. _Lucy... or Sarah? _Carrie wondered silently. Her mother's light knock on the door made her jump and turn around.

"Care... it's Lucy," she whispered as she handed her daughter the portable phone.

"Thanks, mom," Carrie answered with a smile, taking the phone and laying back down on the floor. "What's up, Luce?" Through the phone she could hear two sets of giggles, _Sarah must have stayed over._

"He _drove_ you _home_," Lucy stated excitedly, trying to hold back another fit of giggles.

Carrie couldn't help but laugh a little herself, "Yeah, eventually."

"Eventually?" Sarah squealed. _They must have me on speakerphone, great._

Carrie placed a scrap of paper into her book to mark her place before rolling over and sighing. "Yes, eventually. We went to Forks for a movie, since we missed on one Saturday."

"What? Saturday?" Lucy cried out," You hung out with him on _Saturday _and didn't _tell us_!"

"Yeah, sorry... he just popped over and asked, then I... well Sunday is a blur... and I didn't want to bring it up in the middle of the freakin' cafeteria!"

All she could hear for a minute was the sound of her two best friends squealing and giggling before they started chanting, "Carrie and Embry sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Stop it!" Carrie laughed. "We did not!"

"I hear a '_yet_' in that denial, dear Carrie." Sarah declared. "So... when are you two going to hang out again?"

"Does him driving me to school count?" She answered back with a quiet giggle.

"YES!" Both girls screamed, followed by a bellow from outside the room telling them to keep it down.

"Tomorrow," she admitted.

"Oh...my...god... you're officially dating _Embry Call!_" Carrie couldn't tell who was speaking now, they were giggling and squealing so much their voices were starting to blend together.

Rather than denying it, Carrie just laughed and whispered, "I guess I am."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Thanks for stopping in again, please review to let me know what you love _and _ what you hate. Thanks!


	4. The Secret is Out

**A/N: Nope, still don't own it. Thanks AJ for your help again! (If you all haven't checked out her stories [ajtotheeds]… go!)**

**P.S. Posting a day early 'cause I just couldn't wait to share this chapter! *hugs everyone***

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><p>Fussing with her headband one last time, Carrie glanced at the clock and grinned. She had five whole minutes before she had to meet Embry at his truck. Remembering the ups and downs of the weekend, she realized for the first time that things were going well. She felt... happy.<p>

Downstairs, Ramona called out a goodbye to their parents before slamming the front door. The sound of her car leaving the driveway was Carrie's cue to head downstairs. It was cool enough outside that she grabbed a jacket from the hall closet and pulled it on before flipping her bag over her shoulder and walking out the front door, calling out a goodbye as she did so.

She pretended not to notice Embry leaning against the cab of his truck and watching her as she made her way down the driveway, to the sidewalk, then up the short distance to his truck.

"Hey," he whispered as he caught up her hand and pulled her closer.

"Hi," she whispered back, trying not to crack too big of a smile. Just like before, Embry walked her around to the passenger side and opened the door before helping her into the cab. Carrie caught herself watching as he jogged around the front to get in as well.

Carrie started to lean against the door and look out the window as they backed out onto the road, but Embry surprised her by catching her hand and tugging on it. "You look cold, come here." Instead of turning on the heater, he waiting until she scooted closer to him and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. She snuggled against his side and sighed. It felt good.

The school was in sight too quickly, and Embry parked his truck at the far corner of the student parking lot moments later. Carrie sighed again and sat up, but before she could scoot back across the seat, Embry tightened his arm around her. "Wait," he whispered.

The feel of his rough lips on her cheek caused Carrie to shiver in delight. When he did it again, this time at the corner of her eye, Carrie thought she would melt into a puddle from the warmth it created in her center. _Fuck, _it would not be easy to concentrate in class today.

"See you after school?" Embry requested, his mouth millimeters from her ear.

"Of course... you are my permanent ride to school now, right?" Carrie teased. In the rearview mirror, she could see Jake and a few others lounging by Jake's truck. She stiffened.

"Ignore them," Embry murmured before opening his door and helping her out through his side rather than letting her scoot across the seat to the passenger side.

At the other end of the parking lot, Sarah and Lucy stood and waited, watching them. Carrie waved before turning back to Embry. "See you after school." She once again had the urge to kiss his cheek, but couldn't work up the courage with so many people watching. Instead, she squeezed his hand before letting it go and running across the lot to meet up with her friends.

Embry watched her run towards her friends for a moment before turning to face the guys. Jake and Jared knew about him and Carrie; the others, as far as he knew, were still in the dark. All four guys stood and watched him as he pulled his bag from the bed of the truck and joined them.

"Hey, Call, what the hell happened over the weekend?" Paul looked over at Carrie and her friends, who were now laughing and walking towards the school.

Jake cut in, saving him from answering. "He grew some balls and asked a girl on a date," Jake teased, jabbing Embry in the side with his elbow.

"Fuck... finally!" Paul roared with laughter and threw his arm around Embry's shoulders before he could duck out of the way.

Rather than fight, Embry let Paul drag him across the parking lot and into the school. Carrie was not too far ahead of them, he could see her bright pink headband in the middle of the crowd. At least now he would be able to spot her in the hallway easily. He laughed at himself in his head, _you're in like, _he told himself. A week ago he'd looked for her in the hall, but would never admit it. Now... well the cat wasn't exactly out of the bag, but he wouldn't have to hide it anymore.

As they split up to head to their lockers, Embry smiled. He had to walk past Carrie. He slowed and watched as she bumped a groping couple, Leah and Sam, out of the way before opening her locker. Since she was focused on the combination lock, he moved up behind her, brushed his hand down her arm and whispered into her ear, "See you at lunch?"

Carrie jumped and turned to look at him, her cheeks flaming red. "Sure," she giggled as he watched her. "See you then."

Embry smiled and touched the back of her hand before turning back into the crowd and making his way to his locker. If he didn't move it, he'd be late for class... again.

x~x~x

Carrie blushed as she found herself looking across the sea of students to see if she could catch sight of Embry between classes... again. _One more period, then lunch, _she reminded herself. Embry had promised to see her then. _Not promised, suggested, _her inner voice reminded her, _relax._

Next to her, Sarah bumped her arm and laughed when she jumped. "You just missed him, he went that way," she said as she pointed over her shoulder, back the way they came. "He noticed _you _though."

Sighing, Carrie glanced over her shoulder, but Embry was gone. "Dammit," she whispered. _One more period, _her inner voice reminded her again. Still laughing, Sarah steered her into the Science lab and sat them both down at their assigned table.

At the board, Mr. Shelton stood writing down instructions. "Don't get too settled," he said without turning around. "We're starting a new lab today, new partners." Around him, the class sighed and groaned while gathering up their books. Carrie tuned out, fiddling with the edge of her notebook and waiting for her name to be called. "Miss Blackwell... Mr. Clearwater," he stated after a minute, "Second table, third row."

Standing up, Carrie glanced over at her new companion, Seth Clearwater. He followed a few steps behind her, giving her a quick grin when she caught his eye. "Your choice," he offered, pointing to the two seats at the table. Carrie quickly took the seat to the right, knowing he was left-handed. Sarah had been his lab partner for the first lab of the year and bitched about it the whole way to their next class the first day. She had made him switch seats with her the next day to avoid getting jabbed with his elbow after that.

"Thanks," she murmured, hoping Seth wouldn't take it as an invitation to keep talking. He was cool and all, but he seemed to talk a _lot._

"No problem," he countered while reaching across the aisle for the stack of papers being passed around the class. He took one for each of them and set them on the table before passing them on to Carrie. "So... you and..." Carrie cut him off with a glare before he could say it.

"I thought boys weren't gossips," she teased to lighten the mood quickly, watching as he blushed and stared down at his papers. When he didn't respond she lightly poked his arm. "Hey."

"Sorry, my sister wouldn't shut up about it last night... I didn't..." Carrie playfully poked him again as he looked away from her.

"It's okay... really. Just don't bring it up again, k?" She smiled when he turned back to look at her and grinned. "Besides, I wonder how Leah even knows about the school gossip considering she never stops making out with Sam."

"Yuck... please, don't bring _that _up again. Ugh!" Making a gagging noise that sounded way too real, Seth held up his hands in mock defeat. "We're even!"

Up front, Mr. Shelton cleared his throat to get their attention, or try to at least, and started explaining the new lab.

x~x~x

When the lunch bell rang, Carrie already had her things gathered and was half out of her seat. She made it to the hallway with Seth directly behind her. "Hungry?" He teased.

Sarah appeared next to her a moment later, "Yeah... hungry for _Embry._" She teased and ducked away. Carrie sighed and smiled as she watched Sarah run away. When she reached her locker, Sam and Leah weren't blocking it for once. Instead, Embry leaned against it, waiting for her.

He stepped away from it as she approached, and took her books from her arms. "Hey," he murmured into her ear, leaning in behind her and slipping his free arm around her waist. Carrie flushed as the affect of his voice hit her, making her shiver and smile. She nearly messed up the combination to her locker as she lost focus, but managed to get it open and take her books back from Embry. Quickly shoving her books inside, she slammed the locker shut and turned around in his arms.

"Hey," she greeted him back, sighing when his arm dropped from her waist. She forgave him when he caught her hand and guided her down the hall, his taller larger frame cutting a path like she never could.

Once they made it through the line in the cafeteria, they walked to the corner table where the sight was almost comical. Sarah and Lucy had claimed their usual end spot, while Jake and the other boys sat on the other end watching the girls. "They'll get along, eventually," Embry said, snorting with laughter. The mood at the table visibly relaxed as Carrie and Embry settled in across from each other in the middle of the two groups.

As she nibbled on her pizza, Carrie glanced around the cafeteria and spotted Seth sitting at the next table over. His lanky frame taking over two spaces as he shoveled food into his mouth. When he looked up and spotted her and Embry sitting across from him, he winked at her and smiled. _Such a weirdo, _she thought as she laughed and waved.

Embry glanced over his shoulder to see what Carrie was smiling about, and saw Seth wave back. "You know that guy?" He asked, sounding curious... _and slightly jealous, _Carrie thought.

"He's in my science class, my new lab partner," she explained. "That's Leah's little brother," she offered when Embry looked to be drawing a blank.

"Oh yeah... Clearwater. Huh, he grew up over the summer, wonder if he's going out for basketball," Embry mused, looking back over his shoulder, this time with a look of recognition. "We could use him on the team." When Carrie looked at him curiously, he explained. "He's out on the courts a lot at the park, he's good."

"Oh," Carrie replied, before picking up her slice of square pizza and taking a bite. She'd forgotten that Embry was on the basketball team. The season was coming up soon, which meant he would have practice and not be able to drive her home every day. _Damn._

"You should try out for cheerleader, then we could still drive home together every day," Embry suggested, seeming to read her mind. _Plus, then I could see you in that short skirt, _he thought to himself.

Carrie snorted, "Yeah... maybe." _Ramona's the cheerleader, not me._

"Or... well you could claim that you study better in the library and wait for me." This time, Embry winked and laughed.

"Yeah, mom would believe that _way _before she would believe I wanted to be a cheerleader." Carried laughed and pretended to do a little cheer while sitting in her seat, making Embry laugh harder. "Sooo not my thing."

"Alright... we'll work on that," he teased. After that, they lapsed into a comfortable silence while they ate. Under the table, Embry carefully eased his foot out to bump hers and hooked it around her ankle when she didn't kick him in return.

x~x~x

When the last bell of the day rang, Embry shoved his homework into his bag and grabbed his jacket before making his way to Carrie's locker. Behind him, two girls whined, obviously _wanting _him to hear them. "Can you _believe _he's paying attention to _her_?" One of them whined.

"No... it's _sick!_" The other answered.

Embry rolled his eyes and turned to look at them. "Hey _Slut _and _Sluttier_, give up... or at least go away." He chuckled as they huffed and puffed, shocked that he would respond that way. Before they could think of a reply, he turned and walked over to where Carrie stood waiting.

"Being harassed by the Bitch Twins?" She questioned as she glanced past his shoulder.

"Not anymore." Embry slipped his arm around her waist and they walked out to his truck, leaving the girls behind.

x~x~x

"So... meet you in a half hour?" Carrie asked as they walked up her driveway and on to the porch steps. Ramona stood with her usual group of friends in the driveway on the other side of the Call's yard. Carrie could feel them watching her with Embry.

Embry's answer was a nod, a light brushing kiss on her lips, and slight squeeze to her elbow before he turned and walked into his own yard. Carrie stood, feeling frozen in place as she watched over the hedge between their yards as Embry leaned over the side of his truck and pulled his backpack out of the back. She blushed as she glanced down at his ass, giving in to the urge to check him out. Before her sister or Embry could catch her in the act, Carrie quickly opened the front door, ran inside, and took the stairs two at a time up to her room.

_He... kissed... me! On the lips! Holy shit!_ Carrie squealed as she did a little dance in the middle of her room, followed by a dive onto her bed. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel his lips on hers again, and that was something she definitely wanted to repeat.

Reveling in the memory, Carrie stretched out on her bed for a few more minutes before returning to the real world and sitting up. She now had 15 minutes to freshen up and convince her mom that her being at a boy's house was not a bad thing. She caught herself nearly skipping as she walked down the hall to the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth before returning to her room for her books. There was a definite bounce in her step as she ran down the stairs and into the living room.

"Hey mom..." She called out after not seeing her mother right away.

"Out here honey!" Carrie followed her mom's voice out to the steps out back and to the right, where her mom knelt in the grass next to one of their flower gardens where she worked to cover the flowers up with fresh soil so the winter cold wouldn't kill the bulbs.

"Mom... I was wondering." Carrie sat on the edge of the steps and dangled her feet over the side, kicking the concrete with her heels. When he mom smiled up at her, Carrie continued. "Would it be okay if I... went over to Embry Call's place to study?" When a slight crease appeared on her mom's brow, she rushed to continue, "His mom is there, I promise. We'll be in the living room... please mom."

Mrs. Blackwell turned her head away from Carrie ever so slightly, hiding the smile that lit up her face for a moment. She couldn't let her daughter know that she already approved of Embry, not in the slightest. "Well..._ if_ Ms. Call is home, _and _you stay in the living room... I guess it's okay."

"Thanks mom!" Carrie giggled and spun around to reach inside the door for her bag before standing up and running around the corner of the house. She paused as she reached the corner. "Love you!" Before her mom could answer back, Carrie was gone.

"Kids," her mom muttered and laughed as she looked over at the Call house. Embry's mom, Jenny, was in her back yard as well, and waving to her across the hedge. Mrs. Blackwell laughed again and joined her, taking the can of ice tea she offered.

"Hey Sandi, Embry just asked if Carrie could come over, I assume that Carrie was asking you if she could go." Jenny whispered and laughed.

"Hey Jenny. Of course... what a difference a weekend makes with kids, right?"

Laughing even harder, Jenny nodded. "I remember when Embry was 6 and Carrie only 4... she was sick with a cold and stuck in the house. He _begged _me to let him go over with some of my '_special soup_'... my special _Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup_... to make her better."

"I remember that... he was so _cute_, insisting on carrying it up the stairs. I think only half the soup was in the bowl when he got there... the rest was on the tray!"

As they stood reliving the decade old memory, the two ladies stood giggling and sipping their drinks and each wondering similar thoughts. _What is going to happen in the spring, when he graduated? _

x~x~x

Stifling another giggle, Carrie tried to walk, not run, through her front yard and into Embry's. A light drizzle began as she reached the end of the driveway, so she gave in and ran the rest of the way to avoid getting too wet. At the door, she lightly knocked and waited. After a moment she heard the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs, then the door opened, revealing Embry on the other side.

"Right on time," he noted while taking her bag from her shoulder with one hand and pulling her inside with the other. "Come on in." Guiding her to the right, Embry walked into the living room and set her bag down at the end of the coffee table before turning around. "Hungry?"

Carrie nodded and smiled up at him, "Starving... I kinda forgot to eat enough at lunch." Embry nodded, remembering how she had left half her pizza on the tray when he took it from her to dump.

"I can make us something, but nothing fancy." Still holding her hand, Embry guided her further into the house to the kitchen. "Pizza bites sound okay? I know we just had pizza at school, but it's fast and easy."

"Sounds fine," she answered as she plopped down onto a chair next to the kitchen table. Embry jogged over to the fridge and back, bringing her a soda before going back to open the freezer.

"Oven... or microwave?" He asked while scanning the instructions on the back of the box, frowning in concentration. Carrie bit back a giggle and fought back the urge to smooth the frown lines from his face, he looked adorable when he was so focused.

"Oven, makes them taste better," Carrie decided. "We can start on homework while it heats up." At the freezer, Embry nodded and tossed the box back into the freezer before turning to the oven and setting the temperature. He paused at the counter and grabbed something, putting it behind his back before Carrie could see it.

"What's that?" She instantly asked.

"Never mind... go," Embry teased while shoo'ing her ahead of him with his free hand and grinning at her.

Carrie pouted, but turned and preceded him back into the other room. "Fine." Behind them, Embry's mother ran through the back door, her hair and shoulders nearly soaked from the now pouring rain.

"Mom... why were you out in the rain?" Embry asked as he studied her from the living room door.

"What? Can't an old lady have fun talking to another old lady over the hedge?" She laughed again and flicked rainwater at her son. Embry just shook his head and wiped the water from his face.

Carrie laughed as she pictured her own mother standing in the downpour as well. "Leave her be... she's happy," she whispered into Embry's ear while carefully reaching for the bag of cookies she could now see behind his back. Before he could see what she was doing, she snatched the bag and raced for the couch, dropping down and hiding the bag in the cushions behind her.

"Hey!" Embry mock growled at her, "You'd better share."

"I will," Carrie giggled, "You can have _one_." Shaking his head, Embry sighed in defeat and collapsed on the other end of the couch while pulling his bag closer and unzipping it.

About an hour into their study session, Embry sat rubbing his neck, leaning over his math textbook, and swallowing down the last pizza bite, when a hand holding a chocolate chip cookie situated itself between his face and the book, and another hand pushed his aside and rubbed at the ache in his neck. "Thanks," he whispered, taking the cookie from Carrie's hand and eating it in one bite. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward, letting her work on his neck a little longer.

"You're welcome," she whispered back, moving to use both hands to massage his neck. Embry groaned as she found the source of the pain and dug in her thumbs.

"Marry me..." he moaned jokingly as the pain eased.

Carrie quietly laughed from her position slightly behind him, "How about a second date, first? Or would it be our third?"

"Third," Embry answered with another quiet moan.

"Third it is. Embry, would you go out with me on Saturday?"

"Of course I will," he chuckled and turned to face her, giving her the 'puppy-dog eyes' look and making her melt. "Do I get to plan the date, at least?"

Carrie rolled her eyes and smiled, "_I guess_. But you'd better make it good."

"I'll try," he whispered before reaching out to touch her cheek and pull her closer for a kiss.

Butterflies exploded in Carrie's stomach as Embry guided her down for the kiss, her eyelids slid closed and her heart pounded as their lips touched. She felt him twist around where he sat so they were more face to face before his hand moved from its place on her cheek to curl around her neck. When they moved apart again, he rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Carrie," he spoke into her shoulder, muffling his voice.

"Yes?" She shrugged her shoulder to get him to look up, but he stayed where he was.

"I like you, a lot." Embry admitted before finally looking up into her eyes.

Carrie flushed pink and smiled down at him, "I like you too... a lot." Feeling her cheeks flush even darker, she mirrored his previous pose, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I hear talking, that means your not studying!" Embry's mom called from her position in the kitchen.

Embry sighed and pulled away, smiling even as he yelled back at his mom, "We just needed a break!"

"Yeah yeah... study or no movie," she retorted with a laugh before walking in to drop off a plate full of cheese, meat, and crackers. "I called your mom, Carrie, she's cool with you staying for supper if you want."

"I'd like that," Carrie answered while busying herself with her German textbook and moving away from her position curled up next to Embry.

"I thought so," his mother teased, "Pizza?"

Embry laughed and groaned, "Nooo... that'd be our third meal of pizza _today!_" Carrie nodded and laughed. "How about _burgers_ or something?" Embry pleaded with his arms stretched out in begging pose and a pathetic pout on his face.

"Okay... no pizza. I'll think of something. Now, study." With that parting shot, she laughed and walked back into the kitchen and left them alone.

x~x~x

Embry and Carrie relaxed, leaning against each other as they finished up their homework and wolfed down the monster pot of macaroni and cheese that Ms. Call made for them, complete with cut up hot dogs and topped with bits of crunchy bacon. Since it was still relatively early Embry tossed in a random movie and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over Carrie's head, making her giggle. After piling the cushions onto one end of the couch, they stretched out and relaxed, with Embry holding Carrie in place so she didn't fall off the edge.

x~x~x

"Carrie... Carrie..." Embry chuckled and tickled her side before grabbing the remote to turn off the movie as the end credits scrolled on the screen. "Wake up."

In front of him, Carrie yawned and giggled. "I'm awake, really."

"Sure you are," he teased while tickling her some more. "We should get you home."

"Okay." Gathering her pack and jacket from the floor, Carrie walked to the door and shoved on her shoes. Embry followed behind, staying barefoot as they walked together to the end of his driveway. "I think I can make it from her," Carrie teased as they stopped at the end of the hedge.

"No way, I'm walking you home." Embry teased back, catching her hand and walking with her across the yard to her front door. Once they reached the front door he nuzzled her cheek and gave it a kiss before she ducked inside, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Good night," she whispered as she gave him a quick wave and started to close the door.

Embry smiled and leaned against the frame, "Good night... Care." She giggled again and blushed at the sound of her nickname passing his lips. With one last wave, she closed the door and skipped up to her room.


	5. Shakespeare and Love

**A/N: Here we go with chapter 5! Like always, I don't own Twilight, just Carrie's family, Lucy, and Sarah! Special thanks to KG & AJ for pre-reading & proofreading!**

* * *

><p>Thursday morning dawned dark and cloudy, with not a break in the cloud cover to give Carrie hope of a dry day. Bundling up in a sweater and warm calf-hugging boots, Carrie shivered as she waited for Embry beside his truck. When he finally appeared, he ran out the door and caught her up in a hug before unlocking the truck.<p>

"Sorry, mom needed me to haul a couple things for her," Embry explained in a rush. "Gotta be the man of the house you know." His tone was light, but Carrie could see his façade slip for a moment as he turned his face away from hers and frowned while dropping his bag into the bed of the truck under a tarp.

"That's okay, come on... we're gonna be late," she teased and kissed his cheek before sliding across the seat.

"Not the way _I _drive," Embry teased back, his crooked smile making her giggle. As if to prove his point, Embry peeled out of the driveway and sped down the highway, making it to school even earlier than they usually did.

"See you at lunch?" Carrie asked as they walked to their lockers. Despite the stares they received, she held his hand and walked with confidence, rumors be damned.

"If not sooner," Embry agreed. Before Carrie could walk away and join Sarah and Lucy by her locker, Embry caught her around the waist and leaned in. "Miss you already," he whispered before leaning in the rest of the way and kissing her right in the crowded hallway. Carrie sighed as she kissed his warm, rough, lips back while shifting her weight to move in closer. Before she could reach up and curl her arms around his neck, someone loudly cleared their throat and lightly jostled them. Carrie quickly stepped away and blushed while ducking her head to hide her face.

"Teacher alert," Jacob muttered as he passed, tilting his head towards a classroom door. Carrie blushed deeper as she glanced through the curtain of her hair and recognized her science teacher stepping out into the hall. She quickly caught Embry's hand and squeezed it before moving to walk next to Jacob.

"Thanks," she whispered, looking up at him only after passing the classroom door.

"Anytime," Jacob answered, and surprised her by giving her a one-armed side hug. "See you at lunch."

Carrie quietly laughed and nodded before hugging him back before turning away to stop at her locker.

x~x~x

"Carrie!" Seth called out as he caught up with Carrie just before she walked into Science.

"Hey Clearwater," she giggled. "You ready for this?"

"Always," he teased as they sat and waited for class to start. They quieted down as they started to work on the newest lab, but halfway through the hour Carrie smiled as a thought popped into her head.

"Hey Seth?" She whispered.

Seth glanced up to see where the teacher was before responding, "Yeah?"

"Wanna join us for lunch?" Carrie asked, the idea in her head making her giggle. _Luce is either going to love me or hate me... this could be fun._

"Sure," he whispered back.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Carrie looked over to see Seth grinning. _Yup, this is gonna be fun._

x~x~x

After class Carrie, Seth, and Sarah all walked out together, dropping off their books before meeting up with the others. Lucy joined them as they stepped into the lunch line, and Jacob budged in front of a few freshmen after that. Even before they sat down, Carrie could see Seth smiling at Lucy.

"Hi," he shyly whispered as he sat down between Embry and Lucy.

"Hey," Lucy giggled as she made room for him on the bench and watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Across the table, Quil dropped down between Carrie and Jacob. "Yo, Clearwater, I hear you're good on the court." Before Carrie could get a word in to distract Quil, the boys were off in their own world talking basketball; leaving Lucy to glance shyly at Seth now and again while nibbling on her lunch.

x~x~x

After school, Carrie and Embry walked out to his truck to head home. "So... where are you taking me on Saturday?" Carrie asked as she nudged him with her elbow in his side.

"I'm not telling," Embry answered as he shook his head and caught her up in his arms before spinning in a circle at the edge of the parking lot.

"Oh come on... not even a hint?" She tried to pout through her laughter as he spun her faster.

"Nope," Embry stated as he set her down. He started to say more, but by then they had reached his truck... and the boys all leaning against it.

Quil leaned against the passenger door, preventing Embry from opening it up right away. "Hey, Em... up for a swim?"

Embry shook his head and motioned for Quil to move. "Not tonight, I've got homework... and I've gotta get Carrie home."

"She can come with," Quil offered, rolling his eyes as if it was the obvious solution. "I bet Carrie would _love _cliff diving. Wouldn't ya, Care?"

"I've never tried it," Carrie admitted, moving to lean against the truck next to Quil.

Paul snorted, "Well, it's really a guy thing anyway... you'd never make it." Moving to stand on Carrie's other side; he crossed his arms and grinned down her.

"Yeah... a 'guy thing,' I'm sure. Hasn't Leah Clearwater jumped from the top a dozen or so times?" Carrie retorted.

"She doesn't count," Paul declared with another snort. "I'm not even sure she's a _girl._"

Jacob walked over, smacked Paul on the shoulder and laughed, "You're just jealous 'cause she jumped from the top before you did."

"She did _not!_" Paul growled and sulked for a moment. Seeing his opportunity, Embry caught Carrie's hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Whatever, I'll catch you guys later," Gently shoving Quil off his truck, Embry helped Carrie inside before getting in himself and bringing the engine to life. "Move or get run over," he yelled out the window and laughed. Carrie watched as Jake and his friends scattered, allowing them to drive away.

The drive home was too short as they held hands and she leaned against his shoulder. Carrie sat wishing she could stay there, leaning into his warm side for a bit longer. It was unfortunate that she had to go home now, but she had promised her mom that she would do chores today after homework so she couldn't disappear to Embry's house again like yesterday. Even though that's what she wanted to do more than anything. The night loomed ahead, and her math book taunted her in the bottom of her bag. The first big test of the year was tomorrow.

After two hours of chores, followed by supper and washing dishes, Carrie finally changed into her pajamas and sat down to her homework. Before she opened the first textbook, Ramona appeared in her doorway and leaned against the frame. "Can I study with you?"

"Sure," Carrie answered while dumping her unopened books on the floor to make room for her sister. "I have a _huge _math test in the morning. You can stop me from jumping out the window to avoid it."

Ramona shook her head and laughed. "I'll join you," she said holding up her science book for her sister to see before tossing on the bed.

"We'll go together, and then some modern Shakespeare can write about the tragedy of the school system and the tortured youth."

"And then... they all died," Ramona quipped while joining Carrie on the bed and stealing a pillow. "I swear that's how they should all end."

"Agreed."

The sisters studied in relative silence for the rest of the night, until their father yelled at them to turn off the lights and go to sleep. Giggling, Ramona turned off the main light while Carrie turned on the lamp and they pushed all their homework back off the bed before crawling under the covers.

"Carrie, can I ask you something?" Ramona stage whispered while trying not to giggle too loudly.

"Sure," Carrie agreed as she beat her pillow until submission and settled in.

"What's Embry really like?" Ramona whispered as she beat up her own pillow.

"Umm... that's not easy to answer," Carrie replied while trying to decipher the meaning behind the question.

Ramona gazed sleepily at her sister and frowned. "Why not?"

"Because, he's different around different people, that's why," Carried mused as she tried to answer, a frown forming between her brows and on her lips.

"Then, what's he like... with you?"

"Sweet," Carrie answered first, then tried to elaborate, the frown line etched deeper into her forehead as she thought about her answer. "He's considerate... always opening my door, checking if I'm cold, and asking if I'm hungry. He's goofy... always joking around and making me laugh. And... he hates the whole Senior/Sophomore bullshit that everybody takes so damn seriously."

Next to her, Ramona nodded and sighed. "I do too. Half my _friends _aren't talking to me 'cause I told them to 'fuck off' on Monday when they started in on you and Embry. Some _friends, _huh?"

"Yeah, some _friends._"

Carrie sighed, remembering something she had ignored for the last few wonderful days. "Ramona? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything." Her sister smiled and pushed her shoulder lightly with her own.

"Are you mad at me? For dating Embry, I mean." Carrie rushed on as Ramona frowned. "Cause... well I know you had a crush on him last year... and..." Carrie paused when Ramona giggled.

"_Had _a crush on him... _had. _ I have my eye on Jacob Black _now_, that boy grew up over the summer!" Just thinking about Jacob made Ramona blush scarlet and smile. "Do... do you think he's... I mean do you know if... he is dating that _Bella_ girl?"

"Not that I know of. Embry hasn't mentioned her," Carrie admitted, though she remembered hearing about Bella in the town gossip. She had a bad summer, her boyfriend leaving her alone in the woods and scaring her nearly into a coma. That girl had bad taste in men.

"Oh... okay. So, what's up with you and Embry anyway?" Ramona asked while lightly pinching Carrie's arm.

"We're going on our third date on Saturday," Carrie answered while yawning. "Oh... and today, he kissed me..." Ramona waited for more, but none came. Carrie had fallen asleep.

"My little sister got her first kiss... awesome." Ramona giggled, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep as well.

x~x~x

Friday dawned gloomy, with rain pounding against the windows as if it were a monster trying to get in. Carrie groaned as she sat up and absently flipped a middle finger in the direction of the rain. Next to her, Ramona laid sprawled half off the bed.

"Get up, sleepy. It's morning." Swinging her legs off the side of the bed, Carrie stepped over her textbooks and wandered into the bathroom to shower. Behind her, Ramona groaned and shifted, then promptly fell of the bed.

"Fuck," she muttered, not even awake enough to yell.

"Watch that first step, it's a doozie!" Carrie giggled as she walked away. She got ready for the day quickly, pulling on several layers to fight off the wet chill that seeped into the house through the closed windows. Minutes before she was to meet Embry, she remembered her books lying haphazardly on the floor of her room. She quickly scooped them up into her bag, closed it, and ran down the stairs.

In the entryway, Ramona stood inside the door, staring out the side window and frowning. "Wouldn't you believe, I left my umbrella in the damn _car_!"

"We'll make a run for it," Carrie suggested as she opened the door to the downpour.

"No you won't," Embry remarked, standing on the other side of the door with umbrella in hand. Carrie stifled a squeal of joy at the sight. "Ramona... you first." Catching Ramona's hand, he pulled her under the umbrella and ran with her to the door of her car, making sure she got in all the way before running back to Carrie. "Come on, beautiful."

Embry had already pulled his truck into Carrie's driveway, so the run to the door was quick. He opened up the driver's side and Carrie scooted across the seat, pulling her bag with her. Next to them, Ramona honked her horn and yelled, "Thank you!" through her closed windows.

While he waited for Ramona to back out first, Embry leaned over and gave Carrie a light kiss on the lips. "Good morning," he greeted her with a grin.

"Morning," she giggled back. Taking advantage of the cold, Carrie slipped back across the seat to curl up next to Embry for warmth as he drove them to school.

"Morning sweetie," Embry chuckled as she snuggled against him. "Cold?"

Burying her face in his neck, she giggled again. "A little."

"Well we can't have that." Embry quickly backed out of the driveway before turning on the heater and putting his arm around Carrie's waist to help her warm up. When they reached the parking lot, Carrie spotted Lucy standing in the rain with an umbrella over her head and frantically waving to her.

"Let me out here?" Carrie suggested, pointing to Lucy.

Embry looked over and nodded when he spotted Lucy. "Sure, I'll get your bag."

"Thanks!" Planting a kiss on Embry's cheek, Carrie opened her door and ducked out to meet Lucy under her dry umbrella. "Hey Luce, what's up?"

"Oh... my... Gods! Carrie... Seth asked me out!" Lucy nearly danced in place as she squealed.

Giggling at the pure joy in Lucy's eyes, Carrie asked, "When?"

"Yesterday, after school. If it weren't for Jared, he probably would have done it at lunch!"

"That's awesome!" Carrie wanted to say more, but Embry ran up to join them, handing over her bag before walking with them into the school.

x~x~x

Carrie peeked past Embry to see the sky clearing up and the ground slowly drying as they stepped out of the school building. Behind them, most of Embry's friends all waited as well. Kim pushed her way past Jared and Quil to join Carrie staring out at the sunshine.

"I say we make the most of it. Who wants to go to Port Angeles?" Squealing at the sight of the sun, Kim caught up Carrie's arm and pulled her out into the warm sunlight, where they squealed and spun as they splashed through puddles.

"Hold on..." Carrie panted as she spotted her sister. "Ramona!" Before her sister could drive away, Carrie ran over and knocked on the car window. Inside the car, Ramona jumped and squealed, but rolled down the window when she spotted her sister.

"You scared me!" she huffed. "Did you need a ride home?" she asked as she looked past Carrie to look for Embry.

"Nope, actually, I wanted to see if you wanted to come with us. A bunch of us are heading to Port Angeles to do... something." Glancing back, Carrie could see the group finally making their way across the lot to their cars. "Come on... it should be fun... _Jake's coming_."

"He is? Of course he is... duh." Ramona flushed and glanced past Carrie again. "Do you think they'd mind? I don't want to intrude."

The group stood relaxing against Jared, Paul, and Embry's trucks while watching Carrie talk to Ramona. "Come on... leave your car here. You can ride with Em and me. Maybe Jake will ride with us."

"Okay, you talked me into it!" Turning off her car, Ramona left her things in the back and locked it up before joining Carrie to walk over to the others.

"Did you all decide where we're going?" Carrie asked as she leaned against the truck next to Embry.

"There's a concert going on tonight, with open-mike before hand. We could go relax and eat now, hit the concert later," Kim suggested as she looked at the internet on her phone. Embry laughed as Carrie's face lit up.

x~x~x

At the club, they crowded into several booths. Carrie found herself squished between Embry and Jared, with almost no room to move. "Bump over, would you Jared? You're going to suffocate poor Carrie!" Kim teased as she pulled Jared closer to her and snuggled into his arms.

"Thanks Jared," Carrie teased, "I was starting to feel like the bologna between two slices of bread."

"Bologna? Nah, you're at least a nice bit of smoked ham," Jared teased back, leaning into crowd her space again.

"Back off J... that's _my_ ham," Embry joked as he wrapped his arm around Carrie.

"Great, I'm reduced to being a slice of meat product, thanks you two." Over her head, Embry and Jared continued to joke, but Carrie turned to look at the other end of the booth. Some time between the parking lot and the concert, Jacob and Ramona had ended up hanging out together, leaving poor Quil as the odd man out. Carrie stuck out her tongue at him, trying to lift his frown from his face. When he smiled a small smile at her, she did it a few more times, making goofy faces until he laughed out loud and Embry stopped jabbering with Jared to find out what was going on.

"You are a strange girl, Carrie Blackwell," he teased when he caught her in mid funny-face.

"Yeah, I know... and you love it," she teased back.


	6. In the Meadow

A/N: Here it is… the big day, the Date! (P.S. Yup, still don't own Twilight!)

* * *

><p>Embry pulled his black tee over his head as he jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen; stopping to drop a kiss on his mom's cheek before reaching into the fridge for a couple bottles of water and turning to head out the door.<p>

"Where are you going?" She asked while punching down the dough in front of her with one hand and catching his arm with her free hand.

"Taking Carrie out for the day," he answered, ducking his head and blushing, his hair falling across his red face, feeling a little déjà vu at his words.

His mom chuckled and smiled, reaching for her purse with one hand and fixing his rogue locks with the other. "How much you need?"

"None, I got this," he answered, pushing her purse out of reach. "I didn't work all summer for nothing."

"Alright, sweetie." She turned back to the dough she was kneading and shrugged. "Let me know if you're going to be late."

Hugging her around the shoulders, Embry grunted in agreement before jogging out of the kitchen and stopping to shove on his sneakers before running out the front door. He leaped the hedge, jogged across the Blackwell's yard, and jumped up the porch steps to find Carrie stretched out on the porch in a wicker chair, dressed in faded jeans with threads hanging off the bottom and a bright blue peasant top. "Hey Care," he greeted her, dropping down to sit on the worn wood planks.

"Hey Em," she giggled, setting her book down. "So... where are you taking me?"

"Not telling," he laughed and shook his head, "it's a surprise!"

Carrie pouted for a moment before giving in and sitting up. Beside her, Embry leaned against her leg and smiled up at her, his brown eyes nearly dancing with mischief. _Damn that smile, _she thought to herself. It drew her in, distracting her from her goal of finding out what his plans were. "Tell me," she finally whispered while leaning towards him.

"No," he countered, his smile growing as he reached up to play with the ends of her hair.

"Fine," she pretended to pout again, flopped back into her chair, and closed her eyes. "By the way, you have flour in your hair." She listened as Embry broke out in laughter and grabbed her hand. She opened one eye and watched him run a hand through his hair to get rid of the flour, that cute frown of concentration marring his beautiful mouth.

"Come on," he insisted while tugging at her hand again. Carrie could see a light streak of flour remaining, but kept silent, as it looked cute amongst the darkness of his locks. When she didn't respond he tugged again, then sighed and scooped her up into his arms making her squeal. "We're going for a drive." He carried her across the yard and to his truck. Instead of setting her onto her feet, he lifted her up to sit on the hood while he dug into his pocket for keys.

While he was distracted, Carrie reached out to play with his shaggy locks, running her fingers through them from his forehead to his neck and reveling in the soft silkiness while brushing out that last bit of flour. To her surprise, Embry leaned in to her touch and closed his eyes while a small smile played on his lips. She watched his reaction as she brought her other hand up and repeated the action. His eyelids fluttered, but remained closed as he breathed in deep and sighed. With a light tug, she tilted his head back so she could see more of his face, and imagined what he must look like peacefully sleeping.

Shaking herself mentally out of her wandering thoughts, Carrie moved her hands to rest them between his shoulder blades and kissed his cheek. She held back a giggle as Embry opened his eyes and flushed pink. "Shall we go?" He asked, quickly picking her up and spinning her around before unlocking the truck's door and helping her inside. Carrie scooted only halfway across the seat so when Embry got in she could curl up against his side. Before Embry got in, he pulled two bottles of water from his back pockets and tossed them to her before joining her in the cab.

"Ready!" she answered as she buckled up and tucked herself against him. As they drove off, she tried to imagine what his plans were. When he passed through La Push without slowing, she crossed the beach off her list. When they passed through Forks, she began to wonder. Another hour later, they crossed into Port Angeles city limits, and he finally turned off the main road. Embry drove slowly, winding his way deeper into town before stopping at a grocery store.

"First stop," he announced as he helped her out of the truck.

"A _grocery store?_" She asked, hesitant.

"Yup," he answered and tugged on her hand. Inside he led her up and down aisles, stopping to grab little things. Blackberries, cheese, crackers, strawberries, and almonds all landed in their basket.

"How about dessert?" Carrie questioned, pointing back towards the bakery section as he walked to the checkout.

"Nope," he responded, and pulled her along with him.

Back in the truck, Carrie set their groceries onto the seat and snuggled back into his side, "Now what?" She asked as he pulled on to the street.

"One more stop in town," he answered as he scanned the block ahead of them, "Ah, here we are." As he turned left onto another street, then took an immediate right, Carrie caught sight of their destination.

"A bakery?" She squealed.

"Dessert," Embry said, leaning down to drop a kiss on her nose. "Your choice."

Inside the small bakery, the smell of fresh cookies, vanilla, and bread invaded their senses. Carrie walked along the long line of glass cases looking at everything inside until she froze in front of one in particular. Embry watched her, seeing the pure joy on her face when he said she could pick whatever she wanted. "Cupcakes!" Carrie declared, pointing into the case.

"If that's what you want," he agreed, walking over and wrapping her up in a hug from behind.

"That's what I want," she said, nodding and scanning the case. "Ooooooh... they have so many flavors!" The young woman behind the counter patiently pointed out all the flavors, and even offered to pick out a half dozen for them if Carrie couldn't decide. "I don't know..." she finally declared, "Em, you pick."

"Alright," he shrugged and pointed to six different flavors. Chocolate with cherry, lemon with butter cream, vanilla with chocolate, red velvet, vanilla with strawberry, and chocolate with chocolate. He paid while Carrie watched the woman pull the cupcakes and took the pastry box from her hands, hugging it close as she grinned at Embry.

"Where are we going now?" Carrie asked as Embry pointed the nose of his truck back to the highway.

"To a place a friend of mine found a couple years ago. Not many people know about it," he admitted without really telling her where they were going. "Hey, can you reach behind the seat? I think I left a gym bag back there we could carry the food in." As Carrie search behind the seat, he played with the stations until he found something she would like. Next to him, Carrie giggled and held up a small bag in triumph

"Found it!" Still giggling, she carefully tucked the cupcakes, grocery bag of snacks, and bottles of water into the bag before setting it back on the seat. Embry sat back and watched her out of the corner of his eye while he drove. When the song on the radio was quiet and calm, Carrie leaned into him and sang along softly with her eyes closed, when it was loud and upbeat she nearly danced in place while belting out the lyrics and giggling.

They were almost to their destination when a song Embry hadn't heard in forever started up, and Carrie began singing along. It was a duet with Lita Ford and Ozzy, called 'Close My Eyes Forever.' Carrie started singing Lita's part, and Embry smiled when her eyes popped open as he took over when Ozzy began to sing. They were still singing the sad duet when Embry pulled up to the little dirt parking lot at the end of the road.

"How can such a depressing song be so _beautiful_?" Carrie asked as she opened her eyes.

"It's not _that _depressing," Embry countered, "It's... poignant."

"Ooohh... deep," Carrie teased. "But, I think you're right." She smiled and turned off the radio now that they were stopped and idling. "Where are we?"

"We're almost to our destination," Embry admitted. "It's just a short walk." Next to the truck was the edge of the forest, quiet and inviting in the afternoon sunlight. "Are you up for it?"

"Sure." Carrie waited until Embry had stepped out of the cab before sliding across the seat and handing him the gym bag. "Lead the way."

Embry quickly locked the truck and caught up her hand, leading her into the forest and down a deer trail. About a half hour later, they emerged into the soft sunlight again at the edge of a meadow. "Jake and Bella found this place, but not many others know about it," Embry whispered into her ear, as if talking at a normal level would cause the scene in front of them to dissolve into nothingness.

"It's... beautiful," Carrie whispered back as Embry led her out into the middle of the meadow. It was odd; the meadow looked almost perfectly rounded, as if the trees refused to encroach on the sanctity of the circle. They quietly unpacked their picnic lunch on to a blanket and lay back for a moment, enjoying the feel of the sunlight on their skin.

"So beautiful," Embry whispered. Carrie opened her eyes to see him not looking out at their surroundings, but down at her. She blushed and shook her head, but Embry captured her chin in his hand and frowned. "Yes, you are," he insisted. When she started to shake her head again, he leaned in the last few inches and pressed his lips to hers. After a few light kisses, he lifted his head and smiled down at her, arching one eyebrow and waiting for her to protest again. Her only response was a blush and a smile. When she didn't argue with him, he leaned back in and brushed his lips against hers while his fingers played with a lock of her hair. He wanted to hold her closer, kiss her deeper, press against her so she would know exactly what she did to him, but he held back and kept the moment light. When her stomach quietly announced it was empty, he broke the kiss and smiled. "Hungry?"

Carrie chuckled as he offered her a hand and they sat up. "A little. Can I have dessert first?"

"Sure." Opening the bag, Embry pulled out the bakery box and opened it for her to reach inside, picking out one for himself after she had made her choice. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Carrie slowly peeled the paper from the cake, catching any crumbs that stuck to the paper and popping them in her mouth before turning to inspect the cupcake itself. Finally, she paused and brought the cake to her lips, biting off a small bite. When she pulled the cupcake away and smiled up at Embry, he chuckled. She had a small dollop of pink cherry-flavored icing at the corner of her lips.

Rather than pointing it out to her, Embry turned and leaned in, licking at the dot of icing before shifting his attention to her sweet lips. She tasted of chocolate and cherries, of sunlight and soft breezes. Intoxicated by her, Embry carefully plucked the cupcake from her hands, set both of their treats back into the box, and blindly closed the lid. His hands returned to cup her cheeks as he deepened the kiss, his tongue tasting the sugar lingering on her lips. He smiled as he felt her hands come to rest on his shoulders and press him closer. He twisted so he sat parallel to her, gently guided her back until she lay on the soft grass, and moved to brace himself over her, all without breaking their kiss.

Carrie tilted her head to the side after an unknown amount of time, breaking contact and gasping for air. "Embry," she gasped, "wow."

"Sorry," Embry mumbled and sat up, turning to retrieve their treats and hiding his reddened face. He had vowed to not be an ass and take advantage of her, and here they were... her on her back on the cold ground as he practically ground against her. _You... are an ass, _he scolded himself. He handed her back her cupcake without looking and took a bite of his own, the slight bitter and sour of the lemon peel in the batter matching his current anger at himself.

"Embry," she said again. He felt her hand on his bicep, so he turned to look at her while hoping his face wasn't still flushed. Before he could react, he felt her finger brush against the corner of his mouth, and then she was licking the icing off her finger. "Mmm... that's good." Embry felt his groin tighten yet again as she licked her lips and smiled up at him.

"Carrie..." he groaned and stood up, taking a few steps away before stopping, dropping his chin to his chest, and staring at the grass at his feet. Behind him, he could hear nothing. Carrie was silent. He stood there for another minute, berating himself for being a jerk, before he turned around to look at her.

Carrie stood inches away; her eyes searched his as she smiled up at him. "Something wrong?" she asked. Embry shook his head and tilted it down to stare at the ground between their feet, but Carrie's hand reached out and pushed his chin up so he was looking at her again. "Look at me, dammit," she insisted. When she didn't let go of his chin he did she ordered and looked into her sweet brown eyes.

"I like you," Embry finally admitted.

"We established that, and I like you too," Carrie pointed out, a smile forming on her lips.

"I'm an ass," he stated and frowned.

"Why? 'Cause you kissed me?" She snorted and rolled her eyes. "For your information, I liked it, and I am hoping you'll do that again." Embry blushed and started to pull away, attempting to look at the ground again, but Carrie pushed up on his chin and stepped closer, "Do it again."

_If you insist, _Embry answered silently, before reaching up to curl a hand around her neck and drop his mouth down to meet hers. Carrie's hands dropped to rest on his waist, slowly moving to encircle him with her arms. He moaned quietly into her mouth as her fingers found the top of his back pockets and slipped inside. As her palms pressed against him, he shifted his hips to meet hers and tightened his one-armed hold on her waist. He knew she could feel his _reaction_ to her being so close now; he had given up trying to hide it. Her lips broke away from the kiss as she gasped, then moved to brush against his lips again before she whispered, "Is that an iPod in your pocket?"

"Yes, it is," he whispered back and kissed her again. _Less talk... more sucking face, _the horny-teenager side of him insisted. Carrie kissed him back, but her hand was moving in his pocket gathering up the iPod. Letting go of her waist, Embry reached back to find the earbuds and unwind them before blindly setting one into his ear and carefully placing the other one in hers. Taking the iPod from her, he handled it from memory; turning down the volume, pulling up a playlist, selecting a song, and hitting PLAY. The first few notes of 'Caught in the Rain' by Revis began to play and he nudged the volume up with his thumb before shoving the iPod into his front pocket and capturing her waist with his arm again.

Carrie's love of music emerged as she began to sway to the music even as they kissed. Embry smiled against her mouth and moved with her, feeling her hands trail up the length of his stomach, to his shoulders, then wrapping around his neck. Feeling very satisfied with himself, Embry didn't regret staying up last night and working on this playlist until at least two in the morning. It was one solid list of songs that made him think of Carrie.

The slightest of breezes ruffled Carrie's hair, blowing stray strands of it across Embry's cheek. He could smell the fading scent of her shampoo. _Mint? _Embry wondered where she bought mint scented shampoo. Enticed by the aroma, he shifted so he could lean in and bury his nose into her hair and brush his lips across the shell of her ear.

In his ear, Carrie let out the slightest whimper and tilted her head to the side, giving him a better angle and access to the hollow behind her earlobe. Unable to resist, Embry leaned in further and nipped at the skin, making her whimper yet again before she lightly punched his shoulder and giggled.

They moved again so that Carrie's head rested on his chest and his chin rested on the top of her head. Still swaying to the music, Embry watched with half closed eyes as the sunlight and shadows of the meadow and forest shifted slowly, marking the passage of time outside the bubble of quiet happiness that he and Carrie occupied.

x~x~x

"It's getting late," Carrie murmured into his ear that wasn't occupied by an iPod earbud, "and I'm a little hungry."

"Yeah," Embry agreed as he gazed up at the sky. The sun had dropped below the trees, veiling the meadow in an early twilight. At their feet, the bag of food and cupcakes sat mostly untouched, two cupcakes with bites taken out of them the only evidence that they had eaten anything all day. "We can snack on the way home," he suggested as he turned off the music and gathering up the headphone cord.

"Okay." Carrie helped him gather up their bottles of water, also untouched, while he grabbed the food, glad he had zipped up the bag so it wasn't full of bugs, and followed him down the dim deer trail back to the truck. Before they lost sight of the little meadow, she turned back for one more look and vowed to come back with him as soon as they could.


	7. The Monster Mash

**A/N: Still don't own it. **

**In NEWS: AJ and I have the first chapter up of Autumnal Changes, our first joint fic under our joint account, CallBlack4Ever. Please give it a read! Thanks again AJ for beta'ing my fic!**

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><p>A light click against the glass of her window made Carrie jump as she lounged on her bed. It was close to midnight and she had school the next day, but she couldn't sleep. Stifling a giggle with her hand, she tiptoed over to her window and opened it enough to unpin the note hanging there from its clip. She glanced across to Embry's window to see him looking back at her, a small frown on his face. Giving him a little wave, she leaned against the window frame to read the note, while watching Embry out of the corner of her eye.<p>

_You should be sleeping, why still awake?_

Sighing, Carrie grabbed a pen hanging from her curtain rod and wrote a reply.

_Not tired, nothing's __wrong__. Why are __you__ still awake?_

Reaching out the window, she clipped the paper in place and sent it back to him along the little pulley system they had rigged up between their windows. While she waited for him to read it, she opened the window the rest of the way and leaned against the sill, watching him. Embry frowned again before writing his own reply and sending it back.

_Because __you__ are, I could see your light on. Meet you in your backyard? 5 minutes?_

Rather than writing back, Carrie nodded and blew him a kiss before closing her window and the blinds. It was cold enough outside that she pulled on a pair of sweatpants over her sleep shorts and one of Embry's hoodies she had claimed last week at school, before quietly opening her bedroom door, tiptoeing down the stairs, and crossing the quiet house to the back door. Stopping to push her feet into a pair of sneakers before reaching for the knob.

She opened it in time to see Embry leap the hedge and land lightly on the other side, walking to the rocks where they liked to sit and relax on warmer days. It had only been a little over a month since their first 'date' at the beach, and since then, they had spent at least an hour together nearly every day.

"Hey," she called out in a near whisper as she crossed the yard to meet him.

"Hey," he replied as he reached out to pull her into his lap. She sighed and relaxed into his warmth, resting her cheek against his collarbone.

"Couldn't sleep?" Embry asked as he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her against the chill air.

"Nope," Carrie shook her head slightly, before changing the subject. "Halloween's the day after tomorrow."

"Technically, it's tomorrow... it _is _after midnight," he teased. His hands found hers and enveloped them in warmth, his thumbs lightly tracing patterns on her palms.

"Touché," she giggled. "Did you find a costume?" Her mind drifted to hers, hanging on the back of her door. Technically, it was Ramona's, but since Halloween was in the middle of the week, Ramona had let her borrow it. It was Ramona's football cheerleading outfit, short skirt and all.

Embry chuckled and nodded, his hair brushing her nose and making her almost sneeze. "Yeah, I did. Are you _sure _you don't want to go to the dance?"

"I'm sure. I'd rather go Trick or Treating. Those dances get so _boring._" She was lying, Embry knew it. It wasn't the lack of fun that made her hesitate to go, it was the crowd of people.

"Alright, we'll go Trick or Treating, I'm sure Quil could use the company."

"Why is _Quil_ Trick or Treating?" Carrie asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

Embry laughed quietly, "That's right, I never told you. Quil is the sole babysitter for a little girl on his street, Claire. He's the only person other than her parents that can get her to do _anything._"

"Wow, that's strange." Carrie tried to picture Quil, with his burly build and habit of making disgusting jokes, babysitting a little girl.

"Wait until you _see _it," Embry whispered and chuckled again. He could feel Carrie relaxing into his arms, her head slowly drooping further down his chest. Moving carefully, he stood up with her in his arms, walked across the yard to the back porch and maneuvered the door open. Once inside, he moved quietly through the house and set Carrie down on her bed, removing her shoes and leaving her with a quick kiss on her lips as she drifted off.

Back outside, he locked the back door with the hidden key before walking the long way around the back of the hedge and entering his own house. He didn't bother with anything other than his own shoes before falling asleep himself.

x~x~x

"_Ramona!_" Carried squealed as she turned and looked at herself in the mirror. When her sister appeared the doorway, Carrie pouted at her. "Is the skirt supposed to be this _short?_"

Leaning against the door, Ramona giggled, "I can't help it if you have more junk in the trunk than I do!"

Dropping to the floor, Carrie sighed and pulled on the socks and shoes that completed the outfit. "Mom probably won't let me out of the house like this."

"Then we won't let Mom _see_ you," Ramona stated, moving to the mirror to check her own outfit, a black flapper dress complete with pearls and feathers. "I wish you were coming to the dance."

"You know I hate dances," Carrie complained, standing up and tugging at the hem of the cheer skirt again.

"You'd better change that attitude come spring," Ramona noted while adjusting her headband. When Carrie shot her a confused glance, she laughed. Carrie had forgotten about prom, Embry was sure to ask her, Ramona was certain. "Just think about it."

x~x~x

Since they were meeting Quil and Claire for Trick or Treating, it was still light out when Embry knocked on the door to pick Carrie up. It was a cool day, so she had an excuse to slip on a long light coat before answering the door. Tying the coat closed, she opened the door and stepped outside before her mom walked out of the kitchen. "Mom... Embry's here, we're going... bye!" Shutting the door, she turned to look at Embry, and giggled. _Well hello, Dracula_, she thought with a giggle. His long hair pulled back, but a few strands still feel in his eyes, and he wore a long black cape with black jeans, black boots, and white button-up shirt underneath. He raised an eyebrow at her while waiting for her to say something, looking her up and down as she did the same to him. "I thought vampires only came out at night," she managed to whisper.

"A common misconception," Embry whispered back.

The tension of the moment broke when Ramona popped out the door, pom-poms in hand and tossed them to Carrie. "Don't lose these, or you get to pay for a new set," she teased before looking Embry up and down, winking, and closing the door.

"Why are you wearing that coat? And what's with the pom-poms?" Embry asked, looking very curious.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Carrie asked as she fiddled with the belt.

"Of course I won't." Embry crossed his heart and smiled. Carrie tossed the pom-poms at him before quickly undoing the belt and opening the coat. When Embry didn't speak, she flushed and closed it again.

"You hate it," she whispered and started to turn away.

Embry stepped closer, pushed the pom-poms back into her hands, pulled the coat back open, and caught her by the waist before leaning in to whisper in her ear, his voice low and rough. "I love it," he growled before moving in for a kiss. Carrie blushed, and for the first time considered going out for cheerleading this winter.

"We're gonna be late," she reminded Embry as he ended the kiss and stood admiring her again. "Quil needs to have Claire home by six, remember?"

"Yeah, we should go," Embry admitted. Taking one of the pom-poms from her, he caught up her hand and walked to his waiting truck for a quick ride into town proper.

x~x~x

"Qwilly... I _wanna_ go twick or tweeting," little Claire insisted, a pout forming on her little mouth as Embry and Carrie stepped onto the porch. On the ride into town, Embry had convinced Carrie to take off her coat and leave it in the truck until the ride home, giving Quil an eyeful as she bounced up the porch. _That Embry is one lucky bastard, _Quil groaned in his head as he tore his eyes from Carrie in her tight sweater and short pleated skirt, and looked back down at Claire.

"We can go now," he told the toddler and laughed as she perked up and ran towards the front door yelling for her mom to get her costume. "Hey, we'll just be a minute; Claire's costume would be ruined if I let her put it on when she wanted to earlier." Without waiting for a reply, Quil motioned for them to sit before slipping inside the house and thundering up the stairs to the second floor.

Five minutes or so later, Quil reappeared with Claire in his arms and a holding onto two plastic pumpkin buckets. Carrie didn't know whether she should 'awwwww' or giggle hysterically as the pair approached them. Claire wore a red crayon costume, her little face poking out of the side above the CRAYOLA logo. Quil wore a matching costume in blue. He reminded her of one of those car dealership mascots that would dance at the side of the road to get attention and wave signs around.

"She wanted to match," he mumbled as Embry hid his laughter behind his cloak.

Claire heard Embry laughing and pouted, a frown marring her sweet face. "_Qwilly_, why is Emby _laughing_? Don't I look cute?"

"Claire-Bear, you look adorable... Embry's just jealous." Quil shot a warning over Claire's shoulder while Carrie poked Embry in the side. After a few more snickers, Embry finally got his laughter under control and reached out to tweak Claire's nose with two fingers.

"Claire, you are the cutest toddler on the block," he said with a smile, "I promise."

"Thank you, Emby!" Claire giggled and wiggled in Quil's arms. "Can we twick or tweet _now_?" Quil nodded and followed as Carrie and Embry turned and walked down the steps to the sidewalk. His eyes dropping to check out Carrie's skirt covered ass one more time before Embry caught him and decided to make him sing soprano for the rest of his short life.

As they Trick or Treated, Quil and Embry subtly checked over all the candy before letting Claire drop it into the bucket. If she got something caramel, Embry would joke and bargain with her until he got her to take something better for her little teeth, while taking the caramel for himself. When his supply of caramel-less items grew low, Carrie swapped their bags.

Walking at Claire's little-legged pace, the group finished the last house with ten minutes to spare, so Quil picked up Claire while balancing their candy-loaded buckets so the return trip to her house would take half the time.

"Thanks for coming out with us," Quil said from inside his costume as he pulled it over his head, revealing his basketball shorts and shirt underneath. Claire was inside with her parents, going over her candy haul before supper. "Did you have plans for the rest of the night? We could still make it to the dance at school."

"No thanks... school dances aren't my thing," she admitted while studying the tip of her shoes to hide her blush.

"Carrie '_I-dance-every-time-I-hear-music_' Blackwell doesn't like _dances_?" Quil teased.

"Nope," Embry answered for her when she stayed quiet, "I guess we'll see you tomorrow at school."

Quil nodded and walked with them down the porch steps, waving goodbye as he turned to walk to his house while Embry helped Carrie into his truck. His hand rested on her lower back as she sat down, and before she could scoot across the seat to sit in the middle he caught her waist and turned her to face him. "So, my personal cheerleader, what do you want to do now?" Inside the truck, Embry's hands dropped from her waist to flip up the short skirt and come to rest on Carrie's bloomer covered rear. She giggled as he pulled her forward; shifting so he stood between her legs.

"How about... a monster movie marathon? I know, it's cheesy, but I kinda want to."

Embry nodded before leaning in to kiss her lips. "As long as you don't change out of this skirt."

"There's a marathon in Forks," Carrie suggested while trying to wiggle away from his roaming hands. Finally, she twisted away, slid across the seat, and beckoned Embry to get in as well.

"Alright, let's go check it out." He suggested as he slid into the truck before he nuzzled her cheek and started up the engine.

At the movie theatre in Forks, Embry pulled into the parking lot, turned off the truck before scooping up Carrie in his arms and slamming the door closed with his hip behind them. Carrie squealed and giggled while trying to tug her skirt down to cover herself. As they approached the ticket window, Embry carefully shrugged his shoulder, causing his cape to fall over her and effectively covering her rear.

"Thanks," Carrie whispered, using the hand not clinging to his shoulder to pull the fabric a little closer to her body before looking up at the ticket window. "_Sold out_? Oh no!"

Embry groaned too and frowned as Carrie slumped in his arms. "Maybe they have two more seats... let's check." In front of them, the pimple-faced clerk looked up and shook his head. "Dammit," he muttered. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

Pouting but trying to hide it, Carrie sighed, "Go home, I guess. Maybe we could watch movies at your place." Embry just nodded and turned around to walk back to his truck.

Embry made it most of the way through town, but when they passed the school he slowed. He could see Quil standing outside talking to a couple other guys, dress up in some Wolfman type outfit now. But, Carrie had suggested movies at home, so he drove on. Carrie noticed his hesitation and sighed.

"Em?" Carrie reached out and brushed her fingers along his arm.

"Yeah sweetie?" Embry slowed again before glancing over at her.

"Did you... well... did you want to go to the dance?" Carrie blushed and fiddled with the hem of her skirt, avoiding looking at Embry's eyes.

"Do... do _you_ want to?" Embry replied as he drove a little further along the road.

Carrie blushed deeper and shifted closer to him. "Well, I do _kinda _want to... if you do."

"Sure," Embry chuckled and covered her shoulders with his cape while pulling over before leaning in and nibbling on her neck. Giggling and squirming, Carrie squeaked out, "_Em-bry_... stop it!"

"Not Embry... _Dracula_," he teased in a horrible Transylvanian accent while continuing to tease her, his lips traveling up to her jaw line.

"Fine... _Dracula,_ how about you turn us around so we can go say 'hi' to Wolfman Quil back there."

"In a minute," he whispered in her ear while he shifted across the seat, moving closer to her. Before she could squeak again in protest, he pulled her into his arms to straddle his lap and attacked the soft skin of her neck again. His hands pulling his black cape around to surround her, and hide them both from any passersby.

"Embry..." Carrie whimpered as he moved to suck on her earlobe, his hands running from the curve of her calves up to her thighs and higher until they slipped under her skirt to cup her bloomer covered ass. Her hands clutching his shoulders as she tipped her head back. He continued to worship her soft skin and hold her close until a banging on the truck's door brought them out of their private moment.

"Embry Joseph Call, what are you doing parked on the side of the road?"

Embry flushed red and looked over to see Chief Swan standing outside his door. "Fuck," he whispered while letting go of Carrie and unhooking his cape's clasp so she could wrap it around herself. After scooting back over to the driver's side, he rolled down his window and leaned out. "Sorry Charlie, I mean... Chief Swan. We were just about to turn around and head to the dance."

"Good choice, Mr. Call," Chief Swan replied with a stern smile. "I wouldn't want to be calling on your mother over this... or Miss Blackwell's." Carrie blushed as he glanced past Embry to smile at her. "Head on out now you two."

With a burning red face, Embry sat back and watched as Chief Swan walked back to his cruiser and flashed his lights, signaling Embry to be on his way. "Shit," Embry murmured and rolled up his window before turning to look at Carrie. He expected her to be hiding under his cape, but instead she sat leaning against the door and silently giggling. When she saw the look on Embry's face, she broke out in loud happy giggles.

"You should have seen your face!" She sputtered as she tried to control her laughter. "Oh... my... gods!"

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Embry replied with a chuckle. "Your mom would gang up with mine on the punishment you know." He sighed as he put the truck in 'drive' and carefully pulled back on to the road before circling the block to pull into the school parking lot.

"Hey Call!" Quil cried out as they approached the entrance to the gym. "Looks like Charlie busted your ass!"

"He didn't _bust_ me," Embry growled as he re-clasped his cape around his neck, shoved his hands in his pockets, and tried not to pout. Next to him, Carrie giggled and ran over to hug Quil.

"Hey Quilly," she giggled. "Or should I call you 'Wolfman'?"

"Call me 'Wolfman' over 'Quilly,' _please_," he whined. "Come on you two, the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, a zombie, and Swamp Thing are already inside."

"I feel out of place now!" Carrie giggled, "I should have gone as Frankenstein's Bride or something."

Quil laughed and motioned for her to precede him inside. "Nah, I think you're cute with the whole cheerleader thing going on. Are we gonna see a cheer tonight, or are you saving that for Em?" He laughed even harder when Carrie flushed red and ducked inside the gym, her pom-poms held behind her to cover her rear, and Embry took a swing at his head when Carrie was inside.

"Shut _up, _man!" Embry quietly snapped.

"Oh you know you want it, she is _hot!_" Quil taunted back before slipping inside, leaving Embry outside sputtering and cursing.

When Embry finally quit swearing and growling, he walked inside to see Carrie surrounded by his friends, smiling and leaning against the wall while using the pom-poms once again to cover the shortness of her skirt. Leaning against the wall next to her, Paul laughed as she pulled at a loose end of his Ace bandage 'mummy' costume. Rather than rescuing her from them like he had in the past, Embry smiled and wandered over to get them both a drink from the refreshment table before returning to see her giggling and poking at a bolt end sticking out of Jacob's neck while he leaned over her and groaned playfully.

"Alright you guys, give the girl some room," he teased as he moved to stand next to Carrie and hand her a cup of 'blood,' a.k.a. cherry punch. Music poured through the speakers and Carrie's foot began to tap out the rhythm. As a slow song started up, Embry leaned in to ask her for a dance when a six foot, one hundred fifty pound whirlwind named Seth stepped into their circle and caught her hand.

"Dance with me," he requested as he tugged. Embry started to step in and deny Seth his dance, but Carrie's face lit up and she nodded, so Embry let it go. Instead, he took her half-finished drink and watched as they bounced out into the middle of the crowd and began to slow dance.

"Shouldn't you be dancing with _Lucy_?" Carrie asked as she and Seth slowly turned in a circle. Seth grinned and dipped her low before answering.

"She's off doing her thing," he admitted. "You know... _the_ _bathroom._" Carrie broke out into giggles at his over-exaggerated whisper.

"Yeah... we girls do need to take a piss sometimes too." She laughed even harder as Seth's cheeks turned pink under his dark skin and he glanced away. Once her laughter had abated somewhat, she hugged him and tweaked his nose with her fingers. "Who are you supposed to be anyway?" Carrie asked while looking him over from head to toe; cowboy hat, boots, and all.

"I'm Woody... you know... from _Toy Story._" When Carrie gave him a funny look, he sighed.

A moment later Carrie perked up, "Wait... is that why Lucy went out and got the sheep lady outfit?"

"Bo Peep," Seth corrected her. "Yeah, she's pretty cute in it too."

"Can I cut in?" Embry asked as he walked up behind Carrie. Seth nodded, his face still pink as he let Carrie go and handed her off to Embry. She and Embry began to dance, her arms around his neck with her pom-poms dangling from her wrists. When Embry moved to wrap his cape around her, she shook her head at him.

"Keep your hands off my pom-poms, Embry Joseph Call," she whispered before he could grab her ass.

"Damn," he muttered, but dropped the edges of his cape to rest his hands politely on her waist.


	8. Sweet Sixteen

A/N: Not much to say today other than thanks to AJ for beta'ing, and like usual… I don't own Twilight. :(

* * *

><p>Outside her bedroom window, soft flakes of December snow fell lightly from the sky. "Happy Birthday to me," she whispered, smiling at the sight. She loved it when it snowed on her birthday. Downstairs her mother laughed and said goodbye to Carrie's father as he left for work.<p>

"Happy Birthday, darling!" he called up the stairs. "Do you want your presents now or later?"

"Later is good, thanks dad!"

"Alright darling, see you tonight."

Carrie smiled as she closed her curtains, glancing towards Embry's window before they fell into place. Basketball practice started this week, and she missed riding home with him already, but at least he still drove her _to_ school. He and Ramona had _almost _convinced Carrie to try out for cheerleading, but she had backed out at the last minute, preferring to stay on the bleachers and watch him play from there.

Seth made it onto the Varsity team, joining Embry, Paul, and Jacob. Ramona, as expected, was head cheerleader for the Varsity squad Carrie still remembered the day after try-outs.

x~x~x

_Just before Science, Carrie stood in the hallway waiting for Sarah when Seth scooped her up from behind, spun her in a circle, and dipped her before walking into the classroom and setting her on her stool._

_"Having a good day?" Carrie asked as she caught her breath._

_Next to her, Seth laughed and dropped his books on the table. "Hell yes, the basketball rosters just posted in the locker room!" When Carrie didn't jump up and cheer, Seth sighed. "I made _Varsity_," he elaborated._

_"Awesome!" Finally catching his enthusiasm, Carrie jumped up and hugged him tight, landing a kiss on his cheek before sitting back down as Mr. Shelton called class to or__der. At lunch, the boys talked about nothing but basketball, leaving the girls to sit and catch up on their own current gossip._

_"I'm going to miss driving you home every night," he whispered directly into her ear as they sat in his driveway after school. _

_Sighing, Carrie leaned against him and relaxed into his warm arms. "Will you come over to do homework after practice?"_

_"You bet. Come on, let's go... homework, my place." Catching Carrie up in his arms, Embry carried her from the truck to the living room where they curled up and worked until supper._

x~x~x

Surveying her room one last time to make sure she didn't leave homework lying around, Carrie slipped on Embry's letterman jacket and picked up her bag before jogging down the stairs. Outside, she waved to her dad as he backed out of the driveway and honked the car horn. Across the hedge she could see Embry pulling a garbage can down to the curb before turning to wave at his mom who stood under the shelter of their porch roof.

"Hey baby," Embry called as he leaned on the hedge and waited for her, his black hair dotted with water and melting snowflakes. Carrie smiled and leaned over the hedge to give him quick kiss, then walked the rest of the way around to join him in his yard. "Happy Birthday," he whispered as he caught her wrist, pushing the cuff of his jacket up her arm. Carrie felt something encircle her wrist, and looked down as soon as he let her go. A thin band of metal looped around her wrist. When she lifted it up to inspect it, she saw a continuous etching of a woodland scene, with a wolf howling to the full moon at the middle.

"Oh my... thank you Em, it's beautiful!" Carrie cautiously wiped a happy tear from her eye, trying not to smudge the little makeup she wore, while smiling up at him through a curtain of her hair.

"It's hinged, so you can take it off easily," Embry pointed out as he showed her how to undo the clasp and lifted it off her wrist.

"I love it," she whispered while practicing doing up the clasp herself. She reattached it; she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck while he caught her in his arms.

"We should get to school," Embry whispered as he nibbled on her earlobe.

"Do we have to? Can't we skip or something?"

"Sorry love, I can't skip or coach will kick my ass."

"Alright, if you say so." Carrie sighed and reached into Embry's jacket pocket to retrieve his keys and open the truck door for him. "We'd better go or we'll be late."

x~x~x

At school, Carrie laughed when she saw the state of her locker. Balloons and a poster with "_Happy Birthday, Carrie!_" stuck out amongst the drab grey of the hallway. Lucy, Sarah, Seth, and Quil all stood waiting for her with goofy looks on their faces as they waited for her to reach them. Before she could object, they and the rest of their friends lingering nearby broke into 'Happy Birthday,' singing off-key and loudly.

"When's the big party?" Seth asked as he tied a balloon around her wrist.

"Seven o'clock, my place," she answered and blushed as Quil added a second balloon.

"Now don't you dare take those off, or we'll just add more," Quil teased as he finished tying it tight. Carrie sighed and resigned herself to being the center of attention for the day.

Despite her being good and not fussing with her balloons, Jared and Paul each added one at lunch, making her groan with embarrassment. "Come on guys... everybody is _staring_!" Carrie tried not to whine as Paul finished double knotting his ribbon.

"Just for that..." Jacob laughed and produced another balloon, tying it as Carrie pouted at him. "Deal with it; we do it because we care." Embry took pity on her enough that he handed over his cherry covered cheesecake as if it would make up for everything his friends had done to her.

"It wasn't _my_ idea," he whispered.

"You still get part of the blame, dear, because _you _didn't stop them."

"Damn."

x~x~x

"See you after practice," Carrie whispered into Embry's ear before he disappeared into the gym. Quil leaned against the wall across the hallway, waiting for Carrie to say goodbye for the whole four hours she wouldn't see Embry so he could drive her home.

"See you at seven," Embry agreed, kissing her quickly before coach caught him and made him run double laps. Carrie watched as he strode away from her with Jake and Jared, openly checking him out, a grin stretched across her face. Once he stepped through the gym doors, Carrie turned to Quil and grinned even wider.

"Sorry you have to be my chauffeur now that basketball's started," she apologized yet again.

"Eh, I don't really mind." He grinned when Carrie raised one eyebrow at him questioningly. "Really!"

"If you say so." As they walked to the parking lot, Carrie playfully hip-bumped Quil, only to be bumped in return and nearly fall over. Quil caught her even as he sent her flying, both of them laughing hysterically as they reached his truck. "Come on, I've gotta go get prettied up, and I'll probably need all four hours."

"Trust me, you don't," Quil answered as they drove out of town, causing Carrie to turn pink and duck her head. She only stayed silent for a moment however, as her curiosity got the best of her.

"Hey, Quil?" Carrie fidgeted, not wanting to ask her question.

"Yeah?"

"You're... well you're into basketball stuff, why didn't you go out for the team this year?"

Quil shifted and brought his leg up, crossing his left over his right while pulling up his jeans. "I busted my leg bad in the spring; it's not up to snuff yet, so I can't play." As she leaned in, Carrie could see fading scars crossing his calf and down to his ankle, some of them looked to have been quite deep of cuts, and still pink enough to make her wince in pain. The memory of what happened that spring surfaced. Quil and the other boys had gone cliff diving, like usual... but Quil had misjudged and jumped too close to the rocks. It had taken three guys to pull him out of the water, his leg a mangled mess and his ankle bent at an unnatural angel.

"Oh," she blushed, embarrassed to have forgotten, "sorry."

"It's okay, it was stupid and I'm paying for it." Before Carrie could say more, he shoved his jeans back down and moved his leg, a frown pulling down the corners of his usual smile. "Missing Senior year basketball season is punishment enough. Coach offered me the stats job, but that just makes me feel like a loser." Carrie giggled as Quil lifted his right hand off the steering wheel and formed an "L" with his thumb and index finger on his forehead.

"He can't have you anyway, you're my new favorite personal driver," Carrie teased and leaned into his shoulder.

Quil, being Quil, couldn't frown for long, and started laughing as Carrie batted her eyes at him. "Don't let Em hear you say that, he'll get jealous." Mentioning Embry made him wince internally. _Em would rip me a new one, actually. _Quil had made the mistake of calling Carrie 'cute' and 'hot' a couple of times after Halloween, and Embry had gotten quite pissed. It only took one nearly broken nose to teach an Ateara to back off. "Here we are... casa Blackwell!"

"Thanks for the ride, Wolfman," Carrie said while trying not giggle, "See you at seven?"

"I'll be here!" Quil nodded and pulled up to the garage doors while surveying the walk to her front door. "You gonna make it? Looks a little icy." Carrie tried not to glance down at Quil's leg, but he caught her looking and frowned again. "I _think _I can help you to the door," he muttered sourly.

"Please," she whispered, feeling quite shitty for making him unhappy. "Mom made cookies... you could come in and get some before the others get here."

"Sure." Just like Embry did before, Quil caught her waist to pull her across the seat to exit through the driver-side door. They walked arm in arm across the watery ice until they made it to the porch. Once inside, Quil crashed on the couch and waited while Carrie brought back a dozen snickerdoodles. Quil ate over half of them while they sat and watched Kim Possible. Carrie laughed as she listened to him quote every line Ron and Rufus uttered.

"You like this show?"

"_Claire _loves this show," he muttered, defending himself. "I know every episode by heart."

"Sure... _Claire... _blame a little girl on your kids' show obsession_._"

"Yeah yeah," Quil muttered while reaching over and messing with Carrie's hair. "I should go." Stealing the remote to turn off the television as the credits rolled, Quil stood up and grinned back at Carrie. "See you at seven, birthday girl."

"See you then, Wolfman." Carrie walked Quil to the door, secretly watching him cross the slick ice to his truck, before racing up the stairs to do the little homework she had and get ready for the party.

x~x~x

"Carrie! Your friends will be here soon, hurry up!" Carrie sighed as her dad yelled up the stairs to hurry her along.

"Five more minutes, dad!" She fussed with her skirt one more time, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle before double checking that she had both earrings in and making sure the bracelet Embry gave her still sat securely on her wrist.

"Two!" He chuckled and rapped his knuckles on the stairway banister. "Your mom and I _leave_ in five."

"Fine... two!" Pushing her feet into her ballet slipper style shoes, she ran down the hallway to the better mirror in the bathroom to check her makeup one more time. As she swiped lip-gloss across her lips, she heard the faint click of metal on her window. "Shit, what now?"

Racing back down the hall, Carrie ran to her window, shoved open her curtains, and giggled like a schoolgirl at the sight of a single rose dangling from the line running between their windows. It sparkled in the evening sun, snowflakes melting on the petals from the still falling snow. She glanced over to see Embry leaning out his window and watching her. When he saw her looking back, he smiled and waved a note. Carrie opened the window and unclipped the rose so Embry could pull the clip back to his window. A moment later, he sent the note her direction and waited.

Carrie took the note off the line and read it slowly, savoring every word.

_Carrie,_

_Happy Birthday, sweetie._

_Embry_

After folding the note, Carrie tucked it into the pocket in her skirt and waved to him. Embry grinned and disappeared back into his room.

"Carrie!" Her father called out, "Your friends are here!" Carrie giggled and ran down the stairs to answer the ringing doorbell. Mom had fresh flowers in the hallway, so Carrie quickly tucked the rose in with the irises and sniffed its fragrance one more time before opening the door.

Lucy and Seth arrived first, sandwiching her between them in a giant hug before walking into the living room and setting her presents on the decorated coffee table. Embry arrived moments after them, giving her a hug as well, along with a quick kiss while her father wasn't looking.

"Blackwell!" Jacob yelled as he and the others piled through the door. He started to reach for her, one hand poised to mess with her hair.

"Mess with the hair and I swear, I _will _hurt you," Carrie threatened, poking Jacob in the chest before turning to hug Quil and Paul.

"Aw man... you know I got nothing but love for you, Carrie! Where's my hug?"

"You'll get one when I'm sure you're not going to mess up my hair," she teased as he pouted, before turning to answer the door yet again.

x~x~x

"Open mine next," Sarah suggested with a wink, her smile making Carrie leery. _Sarah is up to something,_ she thought as she smiled back and started to peel the tape from the paper. Rather than rip it open and show everyone, she peeked and blushed feeling mortified.

"What did you get?" Embry asked as she tried to set the gift back down.

"Yeah Carrie... show everyone," Sarah teased.

"No... way." Stuttering and blushing, Carrie tried to set the gift aside again, but Embry tugged it out of her hands and peeked.

His face turned multiple shades of red before going pale. "Whoa. We'll just set that one back _here_," he offered with a laugh, tucking the box behind Carries back.

"Show us! Show us! Show us!" The guys all chanted, making the couple blush deeper. Meanwhile Carrie looked around, noticing that Jared was nowhere around.

"Where's..." She jumped and squealed as Jared popped up from behind the couch, slipped his hand down behind her back, grabbing the box. She tried to pull it out of his hands, but he moved too quick and pulled out the red lacy undies that lay inside, showing them off to the crowd before dropping them down on onto Embry's head. "...Jared!"

Everyone laughed harder than ever when a red-faced Embry pulled the lacy fabric off his head and shoved it into his pocket. "Gonna try that on later, Em?" Jacob cracked as he fell to the floor laughing and clinging to Ramona's leg.

"I thought I might help _Carrie_ try them on later," he shot back. "You're just jealous."

Next to him, Carrie buried her face in his chest and whimpered, even more mortified. _Thank the gods mom and dad left for the night, _she chanted like a mantra over and over again in her head.

x~x~x

"Stop it!" Carrie squealed as she raced up the stairs to avoid Embry's tickling fingers. They had just said goodbye to the last guest, and said good night to Ramona who stood in the kitchen talking to Jacob and putting the dishes from the party into the dishwasher. Behind her, Embry playfully roared and reached for her ankle. "Embry!" She squealed again as she reached the top of the stairs and ran for her room.

Once he was on level ground, Embry's stride let him catch up to her in moments. Carrie squealed again as he picked her up to spin her in circles. "Ready for your present?" He asked while carrying her down the hall and into her room.

"Em... you already got me something," Carrie reminded him, shaking her head and sighing. Once Embry set her back on her feet, she moved to lean against her desk and watch him through lowered eyelashes. Embry flushed red at her actions, and quickly covered the distance between them to lean down and capture her mouth in a kiss. His hands moved to cradle her hips in his hands, pulling her closer before trailing kisses from the corner of her mouth to her collarbone. Under his questing lips, her skin flushed pink as she whimpered. He pulled back and laughed quietly as she giggled and leaned into his arms.

"I did, but I have one more thing for you," he admitted, grinning as he pulled a small box out of his back pocket and handed it over. "Here." Carrie kissed his cheek as she took the box from his hands and watched him blush deep red, duck his head, and shove his hands in his pockets while looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

It was obvious that Embry had wrapped the present himself. The ragged edges of the paper barely stayed closed despite the long strips of tape he had used, and it looked to be a piece of the Sunday funnies. With care and patience, she peeled off the tape and unfolded the paper before setting it on the desk. She lifted the top of the box to see a small flash drive inside. "What's this?" She asked while lifting it out.

"I made it, for you," he answered, turning to look at her straight on.

"You... made me a flash drive?"

Embry laughed and plucked the flash drive out of her fingers. "No... I made what's on it. You'll see." Turning to the desk, he hit the button to fire up her laptop and waited for it to load.

Carrie stood next to him, bouncing on her heels and grinning. "What is it?"

"Patience, babe." In front of him, the computer finished loading, so he popped the flash drive into its slot and shifted to Carrie couldn't see the screen. Moments later, music poured from the speakers. "It's a playlist... for your iPod. I made it for you." Looking past his arm, Carrie noted the title scrolling across the top of the player on the screen and giggled. _Em & Care's Cuddling Mix_, it read.

"I love it," she whispered while scanning through the list of songs. She watched as Embry uploaded it to her iTunes, then to her iPod, before pulling the iPod off its dock.

"Dance with me," he requested, offering her one of the ear buds. Carrie took it with a smile, placing it in her ear before wrapping her arms round his shoulders and resting her cheek on his chest. He fussed with the player for a moment before settling on a song, "White Waters" by Epica. It was his current favorite, and from Carrie's smile as she closed her eyes and relaxed against him, apparently she liked it too.

As they slowly danced and snuggled, Embry continued to nibble on Carrie's neck and ear, whispering things to make her laugh quietly and lightly punch his shoulder. "Stop it," she whimpered as he gently sucked on the skin of her neck.

"Sorry," he whispered before licking her skin. "You just taste so good."

"Thank you," Carrie whispered, "but if you give me a hickey, I'm not responsible for my dad's reaction."

x~x~x

"I should head home," Embry whispered a half hour later, taking the ear bud out of his ear and handing it to Carrie. "Walk me out?"

"Sure." Catching his hand, Carrie led the way out of the room and down the hall, but she slowed as she passed Ramona's room. Embry glanced up to see why, and spotted what must have caught her eye. Jacob sat on Ramona's bed, with a very sleepy looking Ramona leaning against him and cuddled into his arms.

"Jake... dude," Embry whispered, waving to catch his friend's attention. "Dude!" When Jacob finally looked up, Embry chuckled. Jacob looked... smitten. "Mr. and Mrs. Blackwell are going to be home any minute, move your ass."

Jacob nodded and slowly extracted himself from under Ramona, but not before leaning down and kissing her cheek. "Good night, Ramona," he whispered, getting a sleep mutter of goodbye in return. Moments later, Jacob joined them in the hall and followed as they headed for the front door. Opening the door, Carrie leaned on the frame as the boys walked out and kissed them both goodbye as they passed; Embry on the lips, Jacob on the cheek.

"Good night, boys," she whispered and looked up just in time to see her father standing on the other side of the door. "Hi... Daddy."


	9. Home for the Holidays

**A/N: Thanks again to AJ for helping me out! And, for those of you who might be wondering, I have three chapters remaining in this tale.**

**As we all have to say so we aren't sued, Meyers owns the Twilight Saga… but I claim Carrie, her family, Lucy, and Sarah!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Whatcha gonna do for vacation?" Embry asked as he pulled his truck into the driveway. Since it was the last day of the semester, the coach had given the team the day off from practice.<p>

"Eat, sleep, and relax," Carrie stated. "And hopefully spend more time with _you_."

Embry sat and thought for a moment, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and staring out at nothing. "We... should watch a movie marathon tonight. You pick the movies." He laughed as Carrie perked up and nodded, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Your place or mine?" She asked as they got out of the truck and walked to Carrie's porch.

"Mine. The couch is bigger." Carrie nodded at his suggestion, catching his hand and squeezing it.

"What time?"

"Seven sound okay? I have chores to finish up."

"Perfect. See you then." Before Carrie could walk inside, Embry reached up to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand. "Until then... think of me." Embry grinned at his own cheesy line as he tilted her head back, bringing his mouth down to meet hers. Their lips pressed together, warm and soft compared to the brittle cold of the air around them. Parting his lips slightly, Embry flicked his tongue out to taste Carrie's full lower lip then nipped at it with his teeth. Carrie shivered and whimpered under his touch.

Embry's hand shifted, his knuckles brushing along her cheek with the lightest touch. With one last brushing kiss to the corner of her mouth, Embry turned and walked away, jogging down the steps and across the yard.

"Mom!" Dropping her school bag at the foot of the stairs, Carrie searched the house, finding her mom putting up the last of the Christmas decorations in the living room.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Embry and I were hoping to have a movie marathon tonight, after supper. Is that okay?" Shifting nervously from heel to heel, she chewed her lip, her thoughts flashing back to the porch and the feel of Embry's tongue tasting her lip.

"Sure thing sweetie, after your chores."

"That was the plan. Thanks mom." Scooping her bag up from the floor, she ran up the stairs and over to the window in her room. Scribbling out a quick note, she clipped it to the line between there windows and sent it off. Moments later Embry poked his head to grab the note, read it, and waved before ducking back inside to work on his own chores.

Three hours later, after multiple chores and supper, Carrie stood upstairs in her room eyeing her closet.

"The perfect outfit isn't going to appear." Ramona teased from the doorway.

"Damn."

"Come here," Ramona reached out her hand, grabbed Carrie's, and hauled Carrie back to her room. "Try this on," she ordered, tossing a deep red wrap shirt with short ruffled sleeves and edged in black lace. Carrie tried it on, wrapping it tight and glancing at herself in the mirror.

"It's kinda... low cut isn't it?" She asked, tugging at the neckline to try to cover up the little cleavage it showed. "Maybe... I should add a cami under it."

"Oh come _on _Carrie, it's not that low, and Em might like it. Besides, it looks good on you! Here." Ramona untied the knot and shifted it over to the side, tightening it again only when she was satisfied with the placement. "Perfect."

"What time is it?" Carrie asked as she turned to look at Ramona's alarm clock.

"Ten to seven, why?"

"Crap, I have to be over there in ten minutes. Do I _really _look okay?" Even as she asked, Carrie fussed with the bow Ramona tied at her waist and tugged at her jeans, smoothing out invisible wrinkles as she fussed.

"I swear... you look perfect. Now go put on those cute ankle boots and head out." Ramona fussed with the hem of Carrie's shirt for a moment before giving her a friendly shove out the door.

Carrie ran back to her room to check her make-up one last time before parting her curtains to see if the line held any notes. Finding none, she skipped down the stairs with Embry's jacket in hand, slipping it on and walking across the yard to the Call's front porch. Assuming that Embry was up in his room, Carrie knocked sharply enough for him to hear even upstairs. She smiled when the echo of Embry's footsteps on the stairs answered her knock.

"Hey swe...," Embry started to greet her, but paused and gazed down at her, a goofy smile on his face.

"What?" Carrie blushed and ducked her head.

Shaking his head and blinking, Embry flushed bright red and grinned. "Sorry, distracted. Anyway, you ready for a movie marathon?" Before she could answer, Embry guided her inside, taking her jacket and hanging it up in the closet.

"Yup, and I have the movies all picked out!" Carrie watched as Embry glanced down at her again, the blush returning briefly as he smiled at her. "Em... are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Walking backwards, Embry guided Carrie to the couch and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Hold on... "Carrie giggled, trying to slide off his lap. "Is your mom here?" Her answer was a shake of his head before he slipped a hand into her hair, tilting his head back to capture her lips with his own. Carrie whimpered into the kiss, her hands shaking as she gripped his shoulders. As the tips of her fingers dug into his skin, he pulled back to study her face for a moment before dropping three more light kisses on her lips. One on the left corner, one on the center, and one on the right corner. His hands moved to hold her, one under her rear and other across her back. Carefully standing, he turned and lowered her back down again, setting her onto the couch and dropping one more kiss on her lips. "Wow."

When Carrie opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them, Embry stood in front of her, a grin on his face and two DVD cases in hand. "Which one first?" Carrie glanced at them before looking back up at him.

"Princess Bride, of course." She waited as he popped in the movie, listening to her heart beat double time in her chest. _Holy shit, that was... hot! _Watching Embry lean over to start the movie, she openly checked out his ass until he stood up and turned around. He rejoined her on the couch, stretching out so his head rested in her lap, his fingers winding through her hair to play with it as the opening scene played. Carried tried hard to focus on the movie, but caught herself constantly glancing down to see him smiling back at her.

"Which one next, sweetheart?" Embry whispered as the credits rolled.

"Breakfast Club?" She whispered, still entranced by his fingers running through her locks. After that first intense kiss, Embry had done nothing but play with her hair and run his thumb in patterns on the backs of her hands. It would have been frustrating to anyone else, but Carrie found it endearing. From the moment he drove her home that Friday in September, he had been sweet, patient, and loving. With the New Year coming, the school year half over, Carrie felt something looming ahead. _Stop being over-dramatic, _she ordered herself as she smiled down at Embry, _get a grip!_

As he sat up to go change out the movie, Carrie reached out to touch his cheek and stop him, leaning that last little bit to brush her lips against his. "Mmm..." Embry sat up, moving closer to Carrie instead of moving away to start the movie.

"Em?"

"Yeah?" He whispered as they shifted apart.

"Movie...?" She teased, making him blush again.

"Oh yeah..." Laughing, Embry sat up the rest of the way and slipped off the couch. "Let's see... Freddy vs. Jason, right?"

"No!" Carrie squealed and threw a cushion at his head. "Breakfast Club!"

"Alright... Breakfast Club it is." After popping the movie in the player, Embry turned and started to stretch out on the couch.

"No way, my turn," Carrie declared, "You sit, I get to lie down."

"Or... we could both lie down..." Embry offered, picking her up and moving to stretch out while pulling her down with him. "Ahhh... much better." In front of him, Carrie sighed and snuggled back against his chest.

_So beautiful, _Embry thought as he ran his fingers along Carrie's arm. _So soft, _he brushed her hair back away from her neck. _So delicious, _as he brushed his lips along the curve of her neck. The tie on her shirt teased him, taunting him to try to untie it to see what she looked like underneath. He wondered randomly if she had a bra to match the red lace panties that now sat in the back of his drawer. He was too embarrassed to give them back just yet, and he knew his mom wouldn't go poking around in there, so it was safe to leave it under his socks.

As the movie continued, Embry's hand traveled slowly from her neck to her fingertips, down to her waist and back up to her shoulder. His teeth lightly nibbled on her unadorned ear, pulling the lobe between his lips and suckling gently. Carrie shifted and sighed under his ministrations, tilting her head to give him more access to the skin of her neck and shoulder.

On the television, the rag-tag group of teenagers talked about their life issues, Carrie relaxed under the amazing feeling of Embry's lips and hand. At some point, she felt his fingertips trail down her neck to her collarbone, tracing the contours of her shirt collar with the lightest of touches before moving back up to curl around the curve of her neck. She stayed silent and let her eyes drift closed while he adjusted his position behind her to get more comfortable, coming to rest pressed against her.

Two DVD changes later, it was close to two in the morning, but Carrie didn't care. She lay relaxed and happy with Embry still on the couch, and she didn't intend to move.

She didn't remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes, Carrie smiled. Embry lay sleeping next to her, his arm thrown up over his head, face pressed deep into his pillow. Glancing around, she realized that she was in _his room_. The clock on the dresser showed nine o'clock in the morning. "Oh shit," she whispered. She knew she was in so much trouble. _ Mom is going to kill me!_

"Em... Em... wake up!" Carrie whispered loudly while shaking his shoulder. She paused when he didn't wake up right away, stopping to admire his sleeping face. It was just as she had imagined it, his lips relaxed into the slightest of smiles, the stress lines around his eyes erased. She indulged in watching in for a moment longer, and then shook his shoulder again. "Em... wake up, I should go."

He finally stirred as she watched, his eyelids fluttering open to reveal his puppy-dog brown eyes. "Morning sweetie, did you sleep okay?"

"Yes, I did. But my mom is going to _kill_ me for staying here!" She scrambled to sit up, pushing off the covers and hoping that she was still clothed underneath. When Embry grabbed her arm and laughed, she spun to look at him, her jaw dropped in shock. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because, you're not in trouble. My mom called before you even fell asleep, and your mom said it was cool."

Carrie snorted and started to sit up again. "I'm sure she didn't mean for me to sleep... _here._" Embry chuckled again as Carrie blushed scarlet as she waved a hand to indicate the bed she currently shared with him.

"_Relax_," Embry insisted, sitting up himself. "Nothing happened. Come on, let's go get breakfast."

Downstairs, Embry cooked up a feast. He made scrambled eggs, bacon, and even popped some Eggo waffles into the toaster. Carrie helped by finding plates, glasses, and silverware. "Is your mom joining us?" Carrie asked as she reached for another plate and glass.

"No, she had to head out early, something about an appointment. Hand me a plate?" Carrie offered the first plate, taking it back after Embry filled it with food and handing him the second one.

They sat down in a comfortable silence, relaxing as they ate and smiling at each other across the table. Carrie giggled when she felt Embry's foot bump against hers, moving to curl around her ankle after a moment. After breakfast, Carrie took charge washing the dishes while Embry dried and put them away.

"What now?" He asked as they leaned against the counter relaxing.

Carrie sat contemplating his question for a moment before grinning. "Now... cartoons!" Embry grinned and nodded, reaching out to tickle her. She squealed and ran ahead of him into the living room. Embry chased her twice around the couch before she collapsed onto it panting and laughing. Embry turned on the television and pulled Carrie across his lap. They relaxed and watched a Phineas and Ferb marathon until Carrie noticed the time again and cursed.

"I should go now," Carrie insisted. Embry nodded and walked with her to the front door. Carrie held on to his bicep for balance as she slipped her boots on, smiling as she hid her face and squeezed the muscle under her fingers. Embry held back his own laughter when he noticed what she was doing.

When she straightened up, Embry pulled her into a hug. "Jake is having a New Years Eve party, starts around nine. Do you want to go?"

"I'd love to." Pick me up at a quarter 'til?"

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you then." Embry pulled her tighter, dipping his head down to catch her lips in a soft kiss before pushing his feet into his sneakers, opening the front door and walking her to the hedge between their yards.

"I can make it from here," Carrie teased. This was their ritual now, whenever Carrie walked home, she would insist she could make it on her own, and Embry would walk her home anyway.

This morning was no different; Embry shook his head even as she spoke and led her around the end of the hedge to walk through the Blackwell's yard. At the steps, he kissed her one more time before turning and jogging back to his own porch. Carrie waited, waving to him as he turned to wave at her. She knew their relationship may look at little cheesy to some, but she loved their goofy ways.

x~x~x

"Favorite movie?" Carrie asked as she stretched out and rested her head on Embry's shoulder.

"Juno," he replied while turning to kiss her forehead. "Favorite superhero?"

"Juno? Seriously?" She giggled and pressed closer to his side.

"Yes, seriously. I love that movie!" He snorted, hugging her close to keep her from shivering. "Favorite superhero?"

"Thor... he's cool." Carrie twisted a little, pulling the blanket they shared around their legs before twining her legs with his. Embry pulled the blanket around their shoulders tighter as well before moving to blow warm air on her neck. All around them, others were doing the same. A fire roared in the middle of the Black's backyard, where they relaxed and waited for midnight. Sure, it was the middle of winter and near freezing, but hanging out by a fire with your friends and watching the sky for falling stars beat sitting inside watching yet another 'New Years Rockin' Eve'.

"Not a Batman or Superman girl huh? Good."

"Okay... what's your... underwear of choice?" Carrie giggled; surprised she had the guts to ask him such a question. When he didn't answer right away, she looked up to see him flushed red.

"Em's a boxers man... when he's not free-ballin' it anyway," Jared supplied from across the fire.

"Jared!" Embry and Kim both yelled at the same time. "Shut _up!_" Embry growled.

"Never!" Jared replied with a laugh, followed by the sound of a thud as Kim punched him playfully in the gut. "Ouch! _Honey_... why'd you do that?"

"Because Embry can't reach this far," Kim quipped, causing the group to laugh.

"Thanks Kimmy!" Embry called out, laughing and cuddling Carrie closer. "What time is it anyway?"

"It's... eleven o'clock." Lucy supplied from off to his right where she lay curled up with Seth...

"Alright... just another hour to kill," Jacob piped up from his bundle of blankets where he relaxed with Ramona. "Who wants to roast marshmallows?"

Embry glanced down to see Carrie shaking her head, so rather than getting up and helping Jacob gather up supplies, he shifted her so she lay more on him than on the ground to keep her warm... and so he could enjoy the feel of her against him. In one ear, he heard Carrie sigh, feeling the tickle of her breath on his neck. In the other ear, the sound of their friends laughing and talking reached him.

"Oh... I have a good one," Embry whispered. "Where do you buy that amazing mint shampoo you use?" She had used it again today, so his nose caught a whiff of it every time she shifted.

"The Body Shop," she whispered back. "I buy all my... stuff... there."

"_Stuff?_" Embry tried not to groan just thinking about what that implied.

"Yeah... you know, lotion... body wash... shampoo... _stuff._" Under her thigh, Carrie felt Embry's reaction at her list.

"What _smells_? Besides... mint." Embry audibly swallowed.

"Ummm... grapefruit... lemon... vanilla, actually _spiced _vanilla." She bit back a giggle as Embry quietly whimpered.

"Wow. Um... I mean, nice." Even as he stammered, Embry caught Carrie's leg and pulled it higher so it rested across his waist. "Next question?"

Subtly sniffing at Embry's neck, Carrie thought of her next question. "What do _you _use?"

"Shampoo... just plain ol' Suave, cologne... don't use _anything,_ actually."

_Dear gods, he smells this good... naturally? Fuck._ Carrie bit back a whimper of her own before pressing her face against his neck. Spurred on by the new information and the reaction it created, Carrie tilted her head until her lips brushed his throat, feeling Embry shiver underneath her at the light touch. Encouraged by Embry's arm tightening around her waist and his hand squeezing her leg, Carrie nibbled lightly on his neck. Embry swallowed hard again, tilting his head back and relaxing. Nipping again at his skin, she caught a bit between her teeth and tugged lightly before letting go and licking the spot. Her hand rested on his chest, feeling the thud of his heartbeat increase as she lightly kissed his neck again. Before she could lose her courage, Carrie 'went in for the kill,' as Ramona called it, sucking on his neck and earning a moan for her efforts.

After a minute or so, Embry finally spoke. "Holy fuck," he whispered.

"Ugh... what's going on over there? Or do I not want to know?" Carrie blushed and started to pull away from Embry at Paul's question, but Embry stopped her, whispering directly into her ear.

"Relax... sweetie, Paul won't bite. But I might." That was enough to make her giggle and relax into his arms.

x~x~x

"Favorite... candy?" Carrie asked, licking the remains of a gooey roasted marshmallow off her fingers, blushing when Embry caught her hand and brought her fingers to his lips to nip at the goo as well.

"Sour Patch Kids... and marshmallows," he replied with a wink. Carrie laughed and waited for his next question. "Who was your first kiss?" Embry asked, propping himself up on an elbow and waiting.

"First kiss?" Carrie asked, stalling. "I'm assuming that doesn't include family."

Embry chuckled, "Right, no family... first _real _kiss."

"You," Carrie whispered, feeling a blush creep up her face. Above her, Embry grinned before leaning in to brush his lips across hers.

"I'm glad," he murmured into her ear before kissing his way down to her collarbone. Fiddling with the hoodie she wore, he laughed. "You're never giving this back, are you?"

"Only long enough for it to smell like you again," she quipped. "Then... I want it back. Okay, next question. Where is your dad?" Carrie wasn't sure what she expected, but she definitely didn't expect Embry to pull back and look away from her, his jaw clenched and his eyes closed. _What's going on? _She wondered, sitting up and reaching for Embry's arm. "Em? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's not your fault," he whispered so low she could barely hear him. "I don't _know _where he is. Hell, I don't know _who _he is. And, I don't really care. I'd be happy if he _never _showed his face. Mom and I do fine without him... I wish _she _realized it." Embry turned back to look at Carrie after another minute, thinly veiled pain in his eyes. "I'm almost eighteen, Care. After that long, you give up hope of having a _normal_ family."

"You _have _a normal family, Em. You have your mom, that's all you need. Plus, you have my family... and Jake... and Quil..." Carrie sighed and leaned into Embry's arms. She started to say more, but across the fire, Kim spoke up.

"Thirty seconds to midnight," she announced. All around, conversations came to a halt. "And... ten, nine, eight..."

"I love you, Carrie Blackwell," Embry whispered as he pulled her closer.

"I love you, Embry Call," she replied.

"... three, two, one! Happy New Year!" Hollering and laughing, the group of friends relaxed as they cheered in the New Year, leaning over to give friends kisses on the cheek and lips. Carrie's lips barely brushed Embry's before Seth and Lucy pulled her out of his embrace and sandwiched her into a bear hug. She giggled and joined in as she watched Embry as Paul and Rachel pulled him into a group hug.

x~x~x

Two days later, Carrie woke up to the sound of rain falling outside her window... again. _Will it _ever _stop? _ She sighed as she stood up and walked to her window, looking blurry-eyed at the rivulets of rain dancing across the glass. School resumed today, with new class schedules. She already missed sitting next to Seth in Science, and seeing Embry between classes all afternoon. She hoped that her day wouldn't be too different.

Down the hall, she heard Ramona slam the bathroom door shut, so she collapsed back onto her messy bed and waited for her sister to get out so she could shower. The sound of her cell phone beeping quietly brought her back from falling asleep again, so she blindly reached for it before it stopped.

"Hello?"

"Hey sweetie." Embry replied. "I would have sent you a note... but... you know... the rain..."

"Yeah, I noticed," Carrie flopped onto her back and glared at the raindrops clinging to the glass.

"Can you get a ride in with Ramona today? My mom forgot to tell me that she scheduled an appointment for me before school. I'll barely make it to class on time as it is." Nodding even though she knew Embry couldn't see her, Carrie sighed.

"Yeah, no problem. See you at school." Ramona chose that moment to get out of the bathroom, so Carrie stood up and walked out into the hall.

"See you." Embry agreed, and then hung up the phone.

"Ray!" Carrie whispered to get Ramona's attention as she walked into her room.

"Yeah?" Ramona turned and continued to squeeze excess water out of her hair.

Stopping to lean against the frame of the bathroom door, Carrie fiddled with her phone. "Would you... Can I... get a ride in to school? Em's got an appointment."

"Sure. Don't let me forget."

"Cool, thanks." Carrie grinned at her sister before ducking into the bathroom to get ready for school.

x~x~x

"Hey! Blackwells!" Jacob yelled before wrapping his arms around Carrie from behind.

"Hey Jake," she replied, awkwardly hugging him back.

"Ramona," Jacob greeted her sister, acting less childish as he let Carrie go and scooped up Ramona.

"Hey Jake," Ramona whispered, standing on her tiptoes in his arms to place a kiss on his neck.

"How's the new year treating you so far?" He inquired as they walked into the school together, Carrie and Ramona each holding on to a well-muscled bicep as they used their bags to avoid getting soaked by the rain.

"Better now," Ramona teased as she moved to curl up against Jacob as he shifted his arm to rest around her waist. "And _Carrie's _will be better when she sees Embry again. Poor guy got sick after being out in the cold New Years Eve."

"He doesn't look sick _now,_" Jacob observed pointing to the main entrance to the school where Embry stood waiting for them. Unable to help herself, Carrie let go of Jacob's arm and rain the rest of the way to Embry, nearly tackling him with a hug.

"I thought you were going to be late."

"I thought so too, but by the time I got downstairs to meet mom, my fever had broke and I stopped coughing last night, so we skipped the doc." As if to prove that he was feeling better, Embry picked up Carrie and spun her around while Jacob and Ramona passed them to hold on the doors.

"Okay okay... stop being so cute you two, we have school now," Jacob teased. "By the way, Em, nice hickey." His observation made Carrie gasp and reach out to brush Embry's hair away from his neck. Right where she had _attacked _him two days ago was a hickey bigger than a quarter.

"Oh Em... I'm so sorry!" She squealed and hid her face.

"Don't be," he teased. "I liked it."


	10. Hello Adulthood, Not Pleased to Meet You

A/N: I don't own Twilight, but I do have Embry & Jacob New Moon trading cards! RAWR ;)

Thanks again to the lovely ladies that help me make sure this fic doesn't suck!

* * *

><p>"Embry!" He sighed as his mom yelled up the stairs at him. "Embry Joseph Call, get your butt downstairs!"<p>

"Mom... I have homework to finish before the guys get here!" He doubted his excuse would work, but he knew what she wanted. If the phone call he overhead that morning was any indication, he was going to be listening to his mother lecture him on how he was a man now and part of being a man was accepting his father into his life. _As if my 'father' wants me in his_ _life._

"If you don't get down here, you're not having a party tonight." _Fuck. _ Accepting his fate, Embry closed his math book, keeping his place with his notebook. _Let's get this over with. _Hesitating on the bottom step, Embry listened for a moment. There was another voice in the house besides just his mother's. _A surprise party? No way. _ Just in case they _were _waiting quietly to surprise him, Embry look the last step with a thud before walking across the entryway and into the living room.

No yells of 'Surprise!' greeted him, just the sight of his mother sitting on one end of the couch and a strange man sitting on the other. "Yes, mom?" He resisted the urge to ask, _Who the fuck is this?_

"Embry, I'd like you to meet someone." She was nervous, he could tell that much. Her left hand twitched on her knee and her eyes couldn't quite meet his. "Em... this is... your father."

When Embry didn't respond, the stranger stood up and walked towards him. "Hello, son." _That _set Embry off. _How _dare _he! Eighteen years... eighteen, he wouldn't acknowledge his own son, and now he just expects to be greeted with hugs and smiles? I don't think so!_

"Son? I don't think so," Embry snapped, backing up a step away from the man even as he took a step closer.

"Embry, be nice. It took a lot of guts for Joshua to come here and meet you." Embry looked over at his mother. Something about her words and actions were off, like she didn't _believe_ what she was saying. He knew she was trying so hard to give him the life she thought he deserved, but he already had it. He didn't _need _a father in his life.

"Joshua, huh? Do you have a last name, _Joshua_?" He tried to sound polite, but he was so mad that everything was coming out sounding like snarls.

Joshua took another step forward, and Embry continued the slow dance of avoiding him, taking a step back to match. "Uley. You know my other son, Sam. He's in your class at school. You two are half brothers." Joshua smiled as if this was the greatest news in the world, but to Embry... well it just made him sick. Embry tried not to feel like a lab rat being studied as Joshua looked him over. "Jenny, you were right, he does look a lot like me. Guess the Uley genes are going strong."

That was the last straw. Embry felt his stomach heave as this creep turned his world upside down and didn't even _think _that Embry didn't want it. He tried to be mad at his mother for even a small portion of this, but his anger focused solely on the man in front of him. "I don't have a _father_," he growled before turning on his heel and heading to the back door.

"Embry!" His mother called. She sounded near tears, and Embry tried to care... but he couldn't.

Launching off the porch, he reached the hedge in two long strides and jumped over in one bound, thankful that the hard winter snow had given away to soft spring grass as he landed. Three more strides brought him to the Blackwell's back porch. He knew he shouldn't be rude, but he didn't want to wait outside where his mother or _that man_ could catch him. He took a chance and turned the doorknob. It moved freely under his hand so he opened the door and let himself inside. "Carrie?" He called out, swallowing to force down the lump in his throat.

"Embry?" Her sweet voice reached his ears just as she appeared around the corner by the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I... can I stay here? For now, I mean. I... I..." He tried to finish his thought, but gave up and slumped to the side, leaning against the wall as the rush of adrenaline from his anger faded.

"What's wrong?" Carrie walked the few steps to meet him, slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. "And of course you can stay here." As they stood in silence for a moment, the phone rang in the next room, and Embry could hear Carrie's mother answer it. He couldn't quite make out the conversation, but he heard his name. His suspicions were confirmed when Mrs. Blackwell poked her head around the corner and looked at him. He gave her a pleading look, and sighed when she smiled and brought the phone back to her ear.

"Embry's here, Jenny. I think he just needs time. That _is _some major news to spring on him." She listened for a moment before answering back. "I'll tell him. He'll be okay, I'll watch over him for you. Bye."

Carrie looked between her mother and Embry, obviously confused, so Embry hugged her close and leaned down to whisper into her ear. "My mom thought it would be a good birthday present to introduce me to my _father._" He felt her arms tighten around him in a reassuring hug, so Embry focused on Mrs. Blackwell. "Is it okay if I hang out here, at least until _he's _gone?"

"You can stay the night," she offered.

"I have homework," Embry admitted, wincing at the thought of going back into his house.

"I'll go get it," Ramona offered, walking into the hallway from the kitchen, with Jacob less than a foot behind her. Flushing with embarrassment, Embry smiled at her offer.

"Thanks," he watched as Ramona shoved on her shoes and skipped out the door, Jacob once again moving in tandem with her out the door without a word. They returned five minutes later with his pack.

"He's still there, I snuck past him," she reported quietly as she handed over his things. "I took the liberty of packing you a change of clothes since I was there. Well, Jacob did, actually."

Relief flooded Embry's system. He hated feeling like such a wuss, not wanting to face his biological father, but after eighteen years he found it hard to care about him. "Ramona, you're the best." He would have thanked Jacob, but they didn't get all mushy like girls did. Instead, Embry nodded at his friend.

"Whatever, Call." She smiled up at him before smacking his arm and walking up the stairs, Jacob in tow.

Next to him, Carrie leaned into his chest and relaxed. "You're still hanging out with the guys though, right?"

"Oh shit, I should call them; they're heading to my house."

Carrie's mom walked over and gave his arm a quick squeeze as she walked past. "Tell them to come over here, you can claim the basement. I'll make pizzas and we have a few twelve packs of soda in the fridge. By the way, Embry... your mom _is _sorry that she let him come over today. She's just trying to do what's best."

"I know... I'll talk to her tomorrow. Hopefully hewon't come around again." After Carrie's mom walked away, Embry sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing with one hand while hugging Carrie closer with the other. "Your mom is the best."

x~x~x

An hour later, the six boys and four girls sat stretched out over the couches and floor in the Blackwell's basement. Four baking sheets with bits of uneaten pizza crust and two dozen empty soda cans littered the table in the center. Seth let out a resounding belch just as three sets of footsteps echoed on the stairs.

"Seth Clearwater! Damn! I'd give that a six," Ramona teased as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Seth blushed as Lucy laughed and Ramona dropped down between him and Jacob. At the bottom of the stairs, Carrie stood smiling over at Embry, her mother hovering a step back. "Oh yeah..." Ramona laughed. "Everyone... it's time to sing!"

Carrie turned and lit the candles on the tray of cupcakes hidden on a tray in her mother's hands before taking them and walking to where Embry sat and the far end of the basement. Seth, Lucy, and the others joined Ramona in singing 'Happy Birthday' loud and off-key while Embry waited for them to finish before blowing out the candles.

Embry smiled and waited for Carrie to set down the tray before pulling her into his lap. "Thanks everyone, for a shitty start this evening is ending pretty well."

"I'll leave you kids alone now," Mrs. Blackwell announced, before handing out cupcakes and disappearing up the stairs with the empty tray. As soon as she closed the door behind her, Ramona curled up against Jacob's side and relaxed into his arms while Carrie did the same with Embry.

"Did you make a wish?" Carrie asked as she smiled up at him.

"Nope," he replied with a smile, "I don't need to. I already have you." Around them, the group let out a chorus of awwww's before breaking down into laughter.

x~x~x

Left alone in the basement, Carrie and Embry relaxed as the last of their friends drove away into the night. Now that the overstuffed couch sat empty, Embry picked Carrie up and brought her with as he moved over to stretch out on it.

"Want to talk about earlier?" Resting her cheek against his chest, her eyes full of concern, Carrie went straight for the heart of what was keeping a full smile off his lips.

He sighed, "Not really. I mean... it... well... it pissed me off. The guy _denies _my existence for _eighteen years, _and then after he won't have to pay mom any child support, he waltzes back into my life? Yeah, I probably overreacted, but it was _that_ or smile and make nice while wanting to rip his throat out with my bare hands."

"Sounds like you _need_ to talk about it," Carrie observed with a chuckle.

"I... I guess I do."

"Come on, let's go upstairs. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can stay up, watch movies, and talk."

Embry released his tight grip on her waist so she could stand, then followed as she walked up the stairs to the living room, the horny teenager in him briefly forgetting his father to focus on her ass that current taunted him at eye level. _Fuck me... no... fuck __that_, the horny side of him moaned as he watched her reach the top of the stairs. It took all the control he had to not grab hold of her and haul her back down the stairs to the privacy and comfort of the basement couch.

Together, they quickly made up the couch with sheets, a pillow, and a light blanket. Using a movie as an excuse, they stretched out and relaxed in Embry's makeshift bed on the couch, talking out his anger at his father until they both drifted off to sleep. Embry's second to last thought was, _I wonder if Sam knows we're half brothers. I don't want to be the one to break it to him._ His last thought however, was much more pleasant. _I wish Carrie and I could stay like this... forever, _as he kissed Carrie's temple, pulled her back against his chest, and closed his eyes.

x~x~x

A loud throat-clearing sound woke Carrie from a dead sleep. She nearly fell to the floor since Embry's hold on her waist no longer kept her back tight against his chest on the narrow couch seat.

"Good morning, Carrie. I trust you had a _good _night."

"Daddy..." A quick glance over her shoulder verified that Embry still slept. "Nothing happened. Em needed to talk." She watched as her father studied their position on the couch again before looking her in the eyes again.

"If you say so," he whispered, effectively ending the conversation. Behind her, Embry began to stir. "Your mom and I are going to Port Angeles for the day." The unspoken order to behave hung between them like a banner printed in neon ink on black fabric. Rather than speaking to risk waking Embry further, Carrie nodded and waved as her father walked out of the living room.

Relaxing back against him, Carrie turned to study Embry's face. Now that he was eighteen, the government considered him an adult; too young to drink, possibly too old to date her, and ready to be enlisted and killed in some random pointless war. All she could see was the same Embry she fell for six months ago in the school parking lot.

Reaching up with her free hand, Carrie lifted a lock of hair out of his eyes, tucking it behind his ear. His eyelids fluttered open at her touch. "Morning, beautiful."

"Good morning, Em."

"Is everything okay?" Sitting up a little, Embry propped himself up with an elbow and studied her face while rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

"That's a dangerous thing to do," he teased while reaching out to pull her closer. "What shall we do today?"

"Homework and movies. And... you should call your mom. You know, to let her know you didn't run away to join the circus's freak show."

"Freak show?" Embry laughed. "Wow, way to make a guy feel good."

"Whatever, Call." Gently smacking his chest, Carrie sat up and got up off the couch, leaving Embry alone with a slight pout on his lips. "Talk to your mom, it'll make you both feel better. I'm hitting the shower."

"Okay." Embry waited on the couch, watching her walk away, the horny side of him _begging_ him to follow her to that shower. The rational side of him sat and debated on another issue. Call his mom, or go over to see her? The two sides warred until the rational won, and then decided to go see if his mom was okay. Punching his pillow once, he got up, walked over to the back door, and walked out towards his own yard. Luck was with him as he spotted his mom kneeling in her small garden in the back yard. "Hey mom."

"Hey darling," she answered with a smile while standing up, brushing the dirt off her knees, joining him to lean on the hedge and study his features. _Maybe she's looking to see how much I look like __him__,_ Embry thought before he could stop himself. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sorry I freaked out last night."

"You're forgiven. He surprised _me _too. Just showed up and insisted on talking to you. I should have slammed the door in his face."

"It's okay." Embry would have said more, but the urge to hug his mother grew too strong, so instead he reached across the expanse of green and held her tight. When he found his voice again, he let her go. "Carrie and I have homework, is it okay if I spend the day with her?"

"Sure, darling. Let me know if you will be back for supper."

"Thanks." His mother nodded in answer before hugging him again, kissing his cheek and squeezing his arm before returning to her garden patch.

Embry turned back towards the Blackwell's house, a smile forming on his lips. Things were going to be alright. Back inside the house, he picked up his bag from next to the couch and walked up the stairs. Sure, he _could _go back to his own house to shower and change, but something about doing it here felt so right and so wrong at the same time.

The bathroom door stood open, the mirror fogged with steam, but it proved to be empty when Embry glanced inside. Carrie's voice drifted down the hall from her room, she was singing the female part of "White Waters." Embry smiled as he listened. At the other end of the hall, music drifted from Ramona's room.

Taking advantage of the empty bathroom, Embry dropped his bag on the floor and closed the door, making sure to lock it, before stripping down to nothing and turning on the shower. He hummed along to the music in his head as he lathered up, his eyes studying the array of shower gels in front of him. _Spiced Vanilla, there it is. _ Unable to resist, he picked up the bottle. He dropped his head back to rinse the shampoo out of his hair as he flipped open the lid. A whiff of the contents confirmed it; this was the scent that lingered in the steamy air. His groin tightened at the thought, his body instantly reacting.

He looked down and groaned. _Take care of this, or ignore it and suffer? _He closed his eyes and imagined sitting with Carrie the whole day and studying. _Take care of it. _He felt guilty for a moment at the thought of being the perv who whacked off in his girlfriend's shower, but the relief proved worth it as he stepped out of the shower relaxed and smiling.

"Ready?" Carrie asked as she walked down the hall with her bag over her shoulder.

"Yup."

Downstairs, they folded up Embry's makeshift bed. Carrie brought the sheets to the laundry room while Embry loaded the first movie and settled in with his books. Like the first time they studied together, Carrie leaned against him, but this time with her books in her lap and Embry's arm around her waist.

"Want a snack?" Carrie asked an hour later as she sat up and set her book onto the coffee table before pausing the movie.

"Sure," Embry replied as he pulled her into his lap, pushing his own things onto the floor. Carrie squealed in protest as Embry nibbled on her neck and earlobe. "Mmm... delicious." Rather than pull away and scold him, she relaxed into his arms and accepted his attentions.

"Evil boy."

Her comment made Embry laugh into her shoulder as he released her. "Now that you mention it, I _am _kinda hungry."

"What do you want?" Now Carrie attempted to sit up out of his embrace, but he held on and nibbled again. "Em... let go," she gently chided him while using her hands to push away from his chest. He sighed and hugged her closer for a moment before finally letting go and tucking his hands behind his back.

"Good boy," she teased, standing up and walking towards the kitchen. "Now, what do you want?"

He grinned a suggestive grin at her for a moment before growing serious again and leaning back into the couch cushions. "Whatever you want, I guess."

Carrie searched the cupboards until she found what she craved. "Peanut butter and jelly?"

"Extra chunky, with grape jelly?" Embry sat up again and looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

"You got it."

Embry picked his book up from the floor as he waited. Using his notebook to keep his place, he closed it before setting it on the coffee table and stretching. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Ramona and Jacob standing at the base of the stairs. _Did Jake spend the night too? How did he not get caught? _Jacob stood smiling up at Ramona, who stood a step up from him to match his height. She smiled and fussed with his hair,trying to tame it down from its current mess, while Jacob smiled up at her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. Embry silently chuckled and turned away. What Jacob did was his own damn business.

He could tell that Carrie spotted her sister and Jacob in the hallway as well as she walked back into the living room. Embry took the plate full of sandwiches from her and shushed her with a finger to her lips. Without looking, he held the plate out in Jacob's direction, not surprised to hear footsteps and feel the plate lighten. Carrie glanced over his shoulder and giggled before snuggling into his side and taking a sandwich for herself when he offered. The next time he glanced at the stairs, Jacob and Ramona were gone.

Carrie ate one sandwich to Embry's three, feeding him the last two bites off hers when she couldn't quite eat it all. Embry picked up the empty plate and walked into the kitchen before Carrie could protest. Standing at the sink and wiping down the dish, he watched Carrie pick up her book and curl up into the corner of the couch, her slim frame nearly disappearing into the overstuffed cushions. He took his time, drying and then putting away the plate in the cupboard. She smiled as he returned to join her on the couch and pull her feet into his lap.

Catching up his book, he brought his foot up to brace it on the edge of the couch, and set the play he needed to read for English on his raised knee. He lifted Carrie's foot up to rest on his left leg and slowly rubbed it, starting at the heel and working his way up to her toes, gently tickling them to make her laugh before working back down to her heel. A wave of déjà vu hit him as she moaned two words. "Marry me," she teased as he pressed his thumb into her arch.

"Ask me again when you're eighteen," he whispered, half serious. He felt her stiffen under his touch for a moment before relaxing again.

"I thought the boys were supposed to do the asking."

"Not always, I like a girl who goes for what she wants." He watched out of the corner of his eye as she smiled and blushed at his words. Embry caught up her other foot and worked on it while he returned to reading the play. They lapsed into a comfortable silence until the movie ended and Carrie slipped off the couch to change out the DVD with a new one.

As she bent over to grab a new DVD, Embry's predicament from earlier resurfaced. Watching her gave him the urge to pull her down onto the couch and kiss her until she moaned his name. _Dammit! Stop thinking like that!_ Shifting to cover his lap with his textbook, Embry smiled as Carrie turned around after starting the movie. She looked over at him for a moment, then turned around and shut the movie back off again.

"What are you doing sweetie?"

"I thought we could move this little study session downstairs." There was a nervous edge to her voice and a twitch in her smile, but Embry didn't hesitate. He stuffed his book back into his bag and did the same to hers before speaking.

"You grab the movie, I've got our stuff." He stepped over to her and dropped a kiss on her lips. Her face lit up with a genuine smile. They walked down the stairs to the cool basement, Carrie flipping on the lights as she passed the switch at the top of the steps. Carrie started up the movie as Embry collapsed on the couch, his mind completely devoid of the urge to study.

"Ready?" Carrie asked as she walked back and sat down with her legs across his lap.

"Very." As Carrie used the remote to turn on the movie, Embry leaned in and lipped at her earlobe. _Fuck studying Math, I want to study Anatomy, Carrie's anatomy._ The scent of vanilla teased his nose again."Come here," he whispered as he caught her by the waist and lightly tugged. Carrie swallowed hard, but smiled before shifting to straddle his lap. Embry resumed nipping at her ear and licked the indent behind it, feeling her shiver under the touch of his hands. "May I?" He asked, his hands moving to brush against the skin under her t-shirt.

"Yes." Once she agreed, Embry moved on hand to splay across the soft skin of her back, his fingertips massaging the muscles there as he moved to kiss her neck. His whispers of 'So beautiful,' 'I love you,' and 'So soft...' reached her ears as he massaged her lower back and sucked on the delicate skin of her neck, starting behind her ear and working his way down to the collar of her t-shirt. Keeping himself in check proved harder than he thought as he pulled away at one point to smile up at her, his eyes dropped down to her neck and he winced.

"Sorry love, your dad's going to be pissed."

"I don't care anymore," she whispered. "Let him ground me."

"You won't be the one that's grounded." When Carrie snorted a very unladylike snort, Embry chuckled and returned to continue to kiss his way down her neck. He would deal with his punishment as long as he had the memory of today to keep him company.

Carrie's fingers felt as if they moved of their own will, but she liked what they were doing. They found the hem of his t-shirt and tugged as she sat back a little, making Embry groan when they separated. "Relax," she whispered. She watched as she lifted his shirt, showing off his abs that she had only seen when they went to the beach and when Embry asked if she wanted to watch him and the guys go cliff diving. Lifting his shirt over his head, she tossed it onto the couch before returning her hands to his waist, tracing the lines of the muscles there. As she focused on his stomach, Embry returned to kissing her neck.

Carrie's fingertips danced their way up his skin, brushing across his abs and up to his pecs, continuing higher as she curled one hand around his neck and used her palm to guide his chin up so she could see his face. When they were eye to eye she leaned in and kissed him. He smiled as they moved apart. Carrie's eyes looked into his for a moment before looking down to take in the wonder that was Embry, shirtless. He laughed quietly as her cheeks blushed pink under his gaze.

"Like what you see?" He asked, a teasing smirk replacing his sweet smile.

"I guess," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant as she shrugged.

Embry whimpered as she shrugged. "Ouch!" Looking at her with those chocolate brown eyes, he pouted as he pulled her tight against him. "That hurt... make it better?" A brief smirk crossed his lips before they settled back into a pout. Laughing, Carrie rested her forehead against his and placed the palm of her right hand on his cheek.

"Silly Em... of course I like what I see." His smile returned as she spoke, and he laughed when she tilted her head to give him Eskimo kisses.

"Your turn," he whispered, his fingers now playing with the hem of her shirt. Under Carrie's body, Embry stiffed at the _thought _of seeing her shirtless before him. Carrie giggled and shifted as his reaction became evident. "Down boy," she teased, reaching down to lift her t-shirt over her head.

Embry's breathing stilled as he watched, waiting for her face to appear from the folds of the garment. "Beautiful," he murmured. Once they sat eye to eye again, he kissed her deeply, his tongue flicking out to taste her sweetness before moving to travel down her jaw to her neck. Carrie whimpered as his mouth traveled lower for the first time, his lips and teeth tasting the skin along her collarbone, and then moving to run along the edge of the fabric still covering her satiny skin.

"_Fuck,_" Carrie moaned as he licked at curve of her cleavage, his warm breath making her shiver.

"Not today," he whispered against her flesh, "Unless... you want to." His voice tinged with subtle hope. He wasn't surprised when she shook her head but smiled at his teasing question. His lips returned to hers, moving in sync and pushing them both until he stood up, taking her with him before he set her back down on the couch and moved to pace across the room.

"Em?" She remembered this behavior. He had done this on their date in the meadow. Inside he was at war with himself. One part of him wanted to keep her happy and relaxed, the other half of him, that horny-teenager half, wanted to keep going. Standing up she moved to block his path. He smiled up at her a moment later. Without a word he gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply again before walking back to the couch and gathering up their shirts. He held up hers for her to take before pulling his own back on. Carried pouted for a moment at the loss of the sight of those abs, but then pulled on her own shirt before going up on her tip-toes and kissing his neck. "We'd better finish our homework."


	11. Water and Rocks

**A/N: ****Two more chapters… *sigh* (Still don't own Twilight... just the books, a few posters, and trading cards!)**

* * *

><p>Embry sat in his room and fiddled with the envelope in his hands again as he waited for Carrie to finish supper and her chores. They were going out to a movie tonight with the rest of the gang in Forks, and all the girls could talk about lately was Prom. Embry held two tickets to Prom inside the plain envelop in his hands, but he had yet to actually <em>ask <em>Carrie.

"Em? Are you upstairs?" Carrie called out, startling Embry out of his musings. He hadn't even heard her knock. By the sound of her footsteps, she had already reached the stairs.

"Hey Care, I'm in my room." Quickly flipping the envelop onto the bed in front of him, he stood up from the bed to greet her. Creeping softly, he walked to the door and waited. Carrie reached the door a moment later and jumped when he caught her around the waist and pulled her inside. "Hi," he whispered into her ear as his lips brushed along the edge of it to settle on nibbling on her ear. "I have something for you."

"You do? What is it?" Even as she snuggled against his chest she glanced around to see if she could spot it.

"Over there, on the bed." She blushed for a moment before turning to glance at the bed.

"Can I see it?" Carrie asked curiously. When Embry nodded, she slipped from his embrace to stand at the end of the double bed. It took her a moment to spot the plain white envelop amongst the folds of his comforter. He watched greedily as she leaned over to pick it up. Even as his groin tightened at the sight, his stomach twisted and flipped with nerves. He knew how much she avoided dances, even after the fun time they had on Halloween. She had refused to go to every dance since then. Would she refuse to go with him this time?

She picked the envelop up, flipping it open with a flick of her fingers as she turned and dropped onto the bed. Embry found himself holding his breath as she lifted out the pair of tickets. Her eyes moved between focusing on the tickets and his eyes, the nervous look in them making him wary as he stood leaning against the doorway.

"Go with me, please." Unable to avoid sounding like he was begging, Embry used it to his advantage, giving her a puppy-dog-eyes look to help his cause.

"To Prom? Em... you know how I feel about..." Embry didn't let her finish the sentence. Before she could react, he moved across the room to his bed, collapsing beside her while catching her around the waist and kissing her lips to silence her words.

"It's not just a _dance. _It's... dinner, relaxing, hanging out with friends... being... _together._ I don't care if we don't dance a single dance, as long as I can spend the night with you. Please... go with me."

"What did you have planned?" Carrie asked as she tucked the tickets back into the envelop and handed it to Embry. He tossed it on the floor, hoping to remember he left it there before pulling her against him in a relaxed embrace. _Puppy-dog-eyes: 1, Carrie: 0._

"I'm not sure yet... we'll spend some of the time with Jake, maybe Quil, and the others... and some alone. I _do _know that we're going out to dinner, but not where. Honestly, I didn't think too far ahead... because... I thought you would say no."

"Oh Em," Carrie sighed and turned to rest her cheek on his chest. "I'd love to go, as long as I go with _you._"

"Well then, I guess I'd better go get an outfit, and you need a dress."

Embry laughed as Carrie winced and wrinkled her face up into a frown. "I forgot about _that._ Crap." Embry laughed again as she buried her face in his shoulder, groaning at the thought of dress shopping. His shoulders shook with laughter even as his back pocket shook with the vibration from his phone.

He kissed Carrie's shoulder as he fished out his phone, flipping it open to answer the call. "Hello!"

"Em... where _are _you two? We're at the theater already!"

"We're still at my place, sorry." Embry thought about getting up, but Carrie looked comfortable so he stayed in place.

"Ohhhh... did I... _interrupt _something?" Jacob laughed and Embry heard Jared and Quil join in.

"No, you didn't. Not that I would tell you if you _did._ What time is the movie?"

"Damn, anyway... you've got a half hour to finish whatever you're up to, get dressed if needed, and get your ass over here."

"Fine, we'll be there in fifteen."

"No need to rush!" Jacob sing-songed as he laughed and hung up on Embry before he could retort.

"We should go," Embry whispered as he kissed her shoulder again. Carrie nodded as she sat up, letting Embry scoop her up into his arms and walked to the door. As he walked out of the room, she hit the light switch, and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

At the theater, Embry dropped Carrie off in front where the gang waited for them, before pulling into the parking lot and finding a space. He jogged back, only to be greeted by Carrie holding out his ticket. "Hey, I thought guys are supposed to pay for everything."

"Not anymore. Take the ticket and let's go." Embry sighed and gave in, taking his ticket while wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Deal with it, Em," Jacob muttered from his right. "The girls planned it. None of us paid."

"What about Quil?" Ahead of them, Quil walked with Jared and Kim, dateless as usual.

"They pooled their money and bought his too. Apparently, it's _their _night in charge. Did you even look at what we're watching tonight?"

Embry shook his head before glancing down at the ticket stub in his hand. He noted the name and bit back a groan; it was some girlie movie Carrie mentioned the week before. "Where are we going after this, the salon for pedicures?" His tone was light and teasing, but he expected the jab that Carrie placed in his side. "Sorry love, but it _is _a girlie movie." She didn't say a word; instead she smiled a sweet smile up at him and shrugged.

"Too bad, it's girls' night."

x~x~x

After the movie, they met up at the diner on the corner, cramming into a corner booth together. After they ordered, Jacob slipped away, claiming to need to use the bathroom. Embry knew what he was up to, he hoped to catch their waitress and ask her _not _to let the girls pay for their meal. Six teenage boys could eat more food than their girls were willing to pay for, and the boys knew it.

"So... what are everyone's plans for the weekend?" Kim asked with a smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes as they waited for their food to arrive.

Ramona glanced over at Embry, an unspoken question in her gaze. She knew he planned to ask Carrie to Prom tonight, and smiled widely when he nodded to her. "Shopping!" She declared, giggling when Carrie groaned. And don't worry boys, it's 'no boys allowed' shopping."

"Thank the gods!" Jacob joked as he kissed Ramona's cheek.

Quil chuckled. "Why 'no boys allowed?'"

"Because, we're buying our Prom dresses. You can't see them beforehand."

Jared looked at Kim, his nose and eyes scrunched up in confusion. "I thought that was just wedding dresses."

"Nope, Prom dresses too. Our rule."

"Okay... but don't we have to get you flowers and stuff and try to match?"

Rachel laughed. "Yes, but we'll let you know the colors. You all have to get your suits soon."

"Can't we just wear slacks and nice shirts?" Paul whined into Rachel's hair.

"No way! You have to wear suits, but tuxes are better. Paul Lahote, if you show up at my house in _slacks_ I'm sending you right back home!" Paul jumped when Rachel whacked him on the leg, but nodded in defeat.

"Okay, okay. Damn."

Carrie sat tucked into Embry's side, staying out of the conversation, her face flushed pink. "Are you okay, Care?" Embry whispered as he placed a finger under her chin so she would look at him. She nodded but remained quiet. He leaned closer so he could whisper in her ear. "See if you can find a blue dress. I love that color on you." Again, Carrie didn't speak, but tilted her head so she could place a kiss on his lips before nodding.

Embry's eyes roamed the diner as Carrie snuggled back into his side. He felt as if someone watched them as they relaxed and snuggled. He expected it to be his father, whom he had yet to acknowledge after his birthday back in March, instead he spotted Sam. He sat in a booth on the other side of the diner, with Emily Young tight against his side. _When did he and Leah break up? _ Embry wondered as he returned Sam's stare.

"Em?" Embry broke away from the staring contest to look down at Carrie, who watched him for a moment before glancing at Sam. "Are you ever going to talk to Sam about it?"

"Why? He obviously knows. He probably hates me, not that we ever got along _before_."

"Because anything is better than these staring contests you two have whenever you see each other." Carrie had lost track of the number of times she had tried to distract Embry from matching Sam stare for stare across the hall, in the lunchroom, even in the parking lot while hanging out with the guys after school.

"I know," Embry sighed. "After Graduation, I swear. That's only another month, month and a half of dealing with it." _Never mind that it's going to __feel__ like a year. I can handle it. _ He hoped.

"Okay. Don't keep putting it off though," Carrie said with a stern, but caring look. Embry nodded. The waitress stopped by with their food then, rescuing him from having to think or talk about it anymore.

x~x~x

"Carrie, get up! The girls are going to be here in a half hour!" Ramona pulled Carrie's pillow out from under her head, then turned around to start up a playlist on her iPod. "Move it!"

"Dammit Ray, leave me be!" She reached for her pillow and missed, partially falling out of the bed in the process.

"Come on, Care, you need a Prom dress. Would you rather go shopping alone and not have help picking one out?"

"Fine."

Carrie showered and changed in record time, taking time to do her make up to match a blue dress since that's what Embry requested she get. When a horn honked from the driveway, she snatched up her seldom used purse, and walked out with Ramona to join Rachel, Kim, Lucy, and Sarah to go shopping. Instead of cramming into one of their tiny cars, Kim had borrowed her mother's van so they had room to hang their dresses.

At the dress shop in Port Angeles, she waited until everyone else attacked the racks of dresses before walking the shop alone.

"Carrie... we have dressing room started for you!" Ramona called out from the back.

"But, I haven't picked out anything yet!" She called back.

"Well... we picked stuff out _for_ you! Come on!"

"Dammit." This is what she hoped to avoid. There's no telling what amount of ruffles, ribbons, and sequins waited for her in that mirror covered room. She didn't walk back right away, but continued to look at dresses on her own, picking out three dresses in different shades of blue as she walked. Before it became obvious that she was stalling, Carrie walked back to find a door with her name scrawled across a white board in dry erase marker.

"Here, you'll need this," the salesgirl said, handing her a strapless bra. "Your sister knew your size."

"Thanks."

"Let me know if you need anything." Carrie nodded as the salesgirl moved on to answer a question Rachel called through her door.

Behind the salesgirl, Carrie could see several of the girls twirling in front of the mirror. Kim danced across the raised platform, lifting her skirt and spinning to show off her dress to Ramona and Leah. Kim's dress was the palest of yellow, contrasting nicely with her russet skin and dark brown eyes. The empire waistline was similar to Carrie's, letting the skirt flow and swirl as she walked. Leah was next to make the walk in front of the mirrors, Carrie continued to watch as she gracefully spun and posed. Leah opted for a light purple dress, with a darker purple sheer overlay and sparkling sequins. The thin straps criss-crossed along the open back, and the low-cut top led to a form-fitting dress down to her thighs, where the skirt flared out to emphasize her long legs.

Rachel popped out of the dressing room next to Carrie's and giggled when Carrie jumped and laughed. She sashayed to the platform with a little hip shake to show off her dress. She had gone with a dark teal, form-fitting gown with a single jeweled shoulder strap. The ruched bodice gathered at a point low on her hip by another jeweled accent, and the skirt flared out from the gathering point showing off all her curves.

After watching Rachel, Carrie walked into her own dressing room. After closing the door, Carrie sighed and looked over the dresses the others picked out for her. She hoped to try them all on in the quiet of her own space, but Ramona knocked and insisted she show them each off.

"Care... how can we help you if you won't come out?"

"Okay, give me a minute." Picking out a dress at random, she slipped into it and zipped up the side zipper before stepping out into the main room. Ramona and Rachel stood waiting for her to appear. Each of them grabbed a hand to pull her up onto the raised platform to show of the dress in front of the mirrors. "Are we going to do this every time?"

"Yes we are," Ramona replied with a laugh.

"I like the cut, but not the color," Rachel muttered, grabbing Carrie's waist and making her turn in a circle. "Next one!"

Rather than returning to her room, Carrie watched as Lucy and Sarah giggled and danced out to the platform to show off their choices.

Lucy and Sarah went with shorter, less formal-looking attire. Both picked cocktail dresses with skirts ending well above their knees. Lucy's was strapless, and cinched at the waist with a wide, black beaded belt. The trendy blue and black plaid patterning stood out compared to the other girl's dresses, while the A-line skirt bubbled out at the hem, making it look like if she spun around too quickly it would lift a little too high for her parents liking... and Seth's enjoyment. Sarah's dress was a light lilac, strapless cocktail dress, with a leopard-like print lace on the bodice. Cinched at the waist with a black, ruched belt, the sequined, dark purple and black tulle overlay skirt flared out, and the giving the dress a whimsical finish.

Behind them, Ramona said nothing as she walked up to the mirrors and gave the rest of the group a wicked smile. Ramona had the dress that one else dared get. The black dress sparkled with beads which were woven in a decorative design, both along the top edge of the bodice, and along the high criss-crosses on her back. The back plunged very low, and the satin hugged her hips, as the long skirt swirled out, showing off the slit that started high on her leg and exposing as much skin as possible. Carrie blushed just looking at it. Ramona had given Carrie a blue version of it to try on, but she knew Embry would either make her wear his jacket to cover up, or have a breakdown while trying to keep his hands to himself. She wasn't sure at the moment which was worse. Jake, on the other hand, would enjoy every inch of that dress. It looked like she may be the last one to find her perfect dress, and she _had _to find one that Embry would _love._

Carrie endured three more dresses, each one more ruffled and sequined than the last, before she pulled on one of her choices. By then, the other girls had theirs all picked out and waited for her, perched on chairs by the mirrors.

"What about this one?" She stepped out in the light blue dress. She didn't make it to the platform before three heads were shaking.

"Too light," Rachel insisted, getting up and walking towards her. "What else do you have?"

"Only two more, both blue."

Carrie watched as Rachel walked into the dressing room and picked one of the remaining dresses up, her eyes lighting up as she handed it over. "This is the one," she whispered. "Put it on, I can't wait to see it!" Rachel stayed in the dressing room, quickly helping Carrie out of one dress and into the next. "Let me walk out ahead of you. I want to make them close their eyes." Carrie nodded, avoiding looking into the mirror at herself.

"Okay." She waited until Rachel ordered everyone to shut their eyes before walking out and stepping onto the platform. "You can open your eyes," she stated as she turned to focus on the mirror.

Behind her, Ramona gasped. "Holy shit, that's the one. Embry is going to freak!" Carrie didn't hear the other's comments. She stood focused on the girl in the mirror's reflection. _That is __not __me, _she insisted. As she slowly turned, she studied the dress from every angle.

"It's perfect." The strapless, royal blue dress' sweetheart neckline was edged in crystals, gathering in a twist in the center, and giving way to a long flowing skirt that swirled as she slowly turned.

"We'll buy it," Ramona stated to the salesgirl, pointing at Carrie's dress. "Now, you need accessories!"

Carrie let the other girls drag her around the store to find a necklace, shoes, and a hair clip to go with the dress, remembering at the register that she needed the bra as well. The salesgirl smiled at her and held it up for her to see. "I thought you might, so I grabbed you one."

"Ramona, how are we paying for this?" Carrie asked as they piled everything into bags and onto hangers.

"Dad gave me the credit card. He gave me a limit, and we're still under it."

"Oh, good." She watched as Ramona casually handed over the card, somehow not flinching at the total when the saleslady announced it.

Meanwhile the other girls' dresses hung on a rack, while another sales girl looked them over for obvious flaws and such before zipping them into garment bags.

Once everyone paid, they piled back into the van, handing up the dresses and bags of accessories. It was still early, so Kim drove them to a restaurant where they sat and relaxed, talking about school, boys, Prom, and anything else they could think of at the moment. Kim dropped Carrie and Ramona off at their house late that afternoon with promises that they would all get together to talk about hairstyles before the big day.

"Hide your dress, Carrie. Here comes Embry."

"Can you take it?" Carrie asked as she shoved the dress and bag of accessories into Ramona's hands and turned to meet him. Behind her, Ramona laughed and walked inside. "Hey Em."

"Hey babe, where were you all day?" Embry stood, shirtless and sweaty, watching her from the edge of the hedge, a push lawn mower rumbling on the grass beside him. From the state of the grass behind him, he'd gone several passes with the mower before they pulled into the driveway. A mix of fresh cut grass and sap hit her nose, making her look down at the hedge next to them. It looked to be freshly trimmed.

"Shopping for Prom dresses. Looks like your mom has you on yard duty today."

Embry laughed and nodded. "I've already weeded her garden... flower _and_ vegetable, trimmed the hedge, pulled up the weeds by the porch, and now I get to mow our yard and yours."

Carrie moaned internally, knowing she had missed seeing him dirty and sweaty for hours now. "Do you want me to bring you something to drink?"

"That sounds wonderful. Water please."

Carrie nodded and rested her hand on his sweaty bicep, unable to resist. "I'll be right back." Forcing herself to turn away from the sight of all that muscle and sweaty skin, Carrie turned and walked to the porch, only to be met by Ramona inside the door.

"I thought Embry might be thirsty," she whispered, holding out a tray with a pitcher of water and two glasses. "Go sit with him in the back yard for a bit."

"Thanks Ramona." Taking the tray, Carrie turned back around and held it up so Embry could see. Embry quickly shut down the mower and moved to join her as she walked to the back yard where the rocks lay in shadow. A breeze drifted by, bringing Embry's scent to her nose. It was a mix of sweat, shampoo, grease, and musk. Carrie breathed in deep while she had the chance before the wind turned and she lost it.

When they reached the rocks, Carrie set the tray down on the flattest one, perching on the one next to it to pour them each a glass of water. Embry collapsed on the ground in front of her, leaning back against the rock and turning his face so his cheek rested on her leg.

Carrie handed him a glass, then used that hand to run her fingers along his forehead, using the condensation from the glass to cool him off while brushing his hair from his eyes. Under her hand, Embry tipped his head back to sip the cold water before dumping half the glass over his head, wetting Carrie's hand as well. She burst into giggles as she grabbed for the pitcher and refilled his glass.

"Sorry," Embry chuckled and looked up at her with an impish grin. "I'm hot."

"I'll say." Carrie giggled as Embry sputtered at her blatant reply, unable to respond. They sat in the shade sipping their water until the pitcher was almost empty and Embry looked cooled off.

"Finish that glass. You shouldn't drink any more, you'll get sick. I'll bring you more in a half hour." He nodded, dumping the remaining water over his head again before standing up and handing the glass to her while kissing her lips.

"Thanks love." With that, he turned and walked back to where he had left the mower, water still dripping down his body from his hair, leaving trails of moisture along his skin that disappeared into the waistband of his shorts. Carrie sat and watched until he stepped around the hedge, only then did she get up and bring the tray inside the house.

Ramona sat waiting for her in the kitchen, and started to sing as Carrie washed the water glasses. "Carrie and Embry, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!"

Carrie snorted and threw the towel in her hands at Ramona's head. "First of all, we were sitting on the rocks; second of all we're not getting married."

"I hear a YET in that sentence, Carrie!" Her sister giggled and threw the towel back.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm only _sixteen. _ There will be no marriage talk, let alone _babies_ in baby carriages."

"Oh come on... you know if he asked, you'd say yes!" Ramona ducked when Carrie glared her direction. "Yeah, yeah I know... you're only sixteen. That doesn't mean you can't _dream._"

"It's better if I don't dream. He's leaving for college in the fall; I'm stuck here for two more years. Besides, how many people do _you _know have come back to La Push after having the chance to get away?"

The defeated tone in Carrie's voice made Ramona sit up and take notice. "Hey... Care... what's going on? You're acting like he's gone already. He's _not, _he's right out there, mowing the lawn and looking hot as hell." To prove her point, Ramona stood up and walked to where Carrie stood by the window, pointing out to where Embry walked back and forth with the lawn mower, pausing to wipe the sweat off his brow. "Literally!"

Carrie sighed and watched him shake his hair from his eyes. "Sorry... I guess... well... since he turned eighteen... he's an adult now, Ray. I'm just a kid. And when we go to Prom, I'll just be a kid playing dress-up with her mother's clothes."

"Carrie... you know numbers don't mean a damn thing to Embry. He likes you, you like him. You two look cute as hell together. Sixteen... eighteen... who cares! The only number you should be concerned with is: four. That's the number of hours it takes to drive from here to Seattle. When Embry goes to school there, he only has to drive four hours to come back to see you, and that's nothing! He can do that every weekend and still have time for hanging out with you and doing homework. Don't give up on you two just because he's going off to school in four months!"

"I know... I... I just don't want him to leave!" Carrie's breath hitched in her chest as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Sitting out there, I wanted it to last forever! Just Embry and I, together, happy." A knock on the front door made them both jump; Carrie quickly wiped her eyes and looked up. Embry still walked along the yard, now starting across the hedge into their yard, so it wasn't him at the door. Ramona sighed and ran to answer it.

"Jake! Hey, do me a favor."

"What do you need, sweetie?"

"Go take over mowing the lawn for Embry? Just for ten minutes. Please." Jacob glanced towards Carrie as they stepped into the kitchen, no doubt noting the tear streaks on her cheeks.

"Sure, anything for you two. I'll send Embry in." With that, Jacob jogged out the door. Ramona followed him as far as the door, catching Embry as he walked inside and whispering to him. Carrie could hear the whispers, but not what she said. Embry's footsteps were nearly silent, but there was no mistaking the whiff of fresh cut grass that wafted into her nose as he stepped up behind her.

"Care? Is everything okay?" His arms enveloped her, warm from the sunshine and his exertions. Carrie turned into them, resting her cheek on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Em. I started stressing out, that's all. It's nothing."

"If it's nothing, why have you been crying?" With a soft touch, he wiped a tear from her cheek before he kissed it. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no... it's not that. I started thinking about, stuff. You're eighteen, going off to college in the fall... I'll be here, sixteen and stuck in La Push. I don't want to lose you." Tears threatened to fall again, so she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face to his chest to stop them. "Don't leave me, Embry."

"I'm not leaving you. I'll be four hours away and home every weekend. You know mom will want me home to do all her dirty work anyway. I'll call all the time, I'll bring my homework with me so we can _study _together, and you'll get sick of seeing me every weekend eventually."

"No, I won't." She knew she couldn't say much more without going off on another freak-out rant, so Carrie stayed quiet and hugged him tight.

"Are you okay?" Embry asked, using a finger to tilt her head back so he could look her in the eyes. Carrie nodded, still afraid to speak. "I should rescue Jake from doing my chores for me. Soon as I'm done, I'll be back over. I promise. Okay?"

"Okay." Forcing herself to unlock her arms from around his waist, Carrie stepped back and smiled at him before he walked back out the door.

x~x~x

"So what's the plan again?" Ramona asked as she stretched out on Carrie's floor.

"Em and the guys want to go out and do stuff early in the day so we can come back and get all dressed up before Grand March." Carrie replied as she tossed a cheese puff at Sarah's open mouth. "I guess they are taking us out to dinner before we spilt up. Em won't tell me anything after that."

"Grand March is at what, six?"

Rachel nodded from her spot on the floor, tossing a puff high in the air for Carrie to catch. "So we need to be back here by five at the latest to get ready."

Even though they all planned to get dressed at their own houses, the girls congregated at the Blackwell house to relax the night before. They sat discussing makeup selections, hairdos, and snacked as the night wore on. It was nearly midnight when Carrie heard the familiar click of something on the line between her and Embry's rooms hitting her window. Trying to hold in a squeal, she fell off the bed, nearly landing on Rachel, as she ran to check the line.

Embry stood leaning out his window, waiting for her to read the note attached to the line. Inside the room behind her, the girls made kissing noises and giggled as she tried to shush them.

_I miss you, can I come over? Meet you by the rocks?_

Carrie giggled and reached for her pen, quickly scribbling back a reply.

_Give me two minutes to shake the 'giggle girls.'_

She waited until he plucked the note off the line and read it before ducking back inside and reaching for a pair of jeans and Embry's hoodie.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ramona asked as Carrie headed for the door.

"Out," Carrie whispered as she continued out the door.

"She's sneaking out to see Embry! Naughty girl!" Lucy teased from her spot by the closet.

"_Lucky_ girl is more like it," Kim whispered. "I wish Jared and I lived next door to each other." Carrie stopped listening to the girls as their discussion continued, slipping down the stairs and out the back door.

Embry sat in the same place he had been in that afternoon, holding out his hand to her as she walked out the door. He didn't speak, but pulled her into his lap and cuddled her close, kissing her lips, cheeks, and forehead as the crickets chirped around them. Carrie fell asleep in his arms, so for the second time he found himself walking her up to put her in her bed, only this time her room was full of teenage girls, all watching as he laid her down on the bed and kissed her good night, pulling off her shoes before walking out and whispering good night to the rest of the girls in the room.


	12. As Things Draw to a Close

**AN: Hey all, soooo sorry that this chapter has taken this long to post. I'm not 100% happy with it, and may edit it in the future if I end up hating it, but I wanted to give Embry and Carrie a resolution to their story. Please message me if you see any glaring mistakes... spelling, grammar, or story continuity errors... as it's been two months since I last really focused on it. I am certain this will be the last chapter in the story. Enjoy.**

**P.S. Check my profile for a link to see the girls Prom dresses. :)  
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><p>Last time:<p>

"Where do you think you're going?" Ramona asked as Carrie headed for the door.

"Out," Carrie whispered as she continued out the door.

"She's sneaking out to see Embry! Naughty girl!" Lucy teased from her spot by the closet.

"_Lucky_ girl is more like it," Kim whispered. "I wish Jared and I lived next door to each other." Carrie stopped listening to the girls as their discussion continued, slipping down the stairs and out the back door.

Embry sat in the same place he had been in that afternoon, holding out his hand to her as she walked out the door. He didn't speak, but pulled her into his lap and cuddled her close, kissing her lips, cheeks, and forehead as the crickets chirped around them. Carrie fell asleep in his arms, so for the second time he found himself walking her up to put her in her bed, only this time her room was full of teenage girls, all watching as he laid her down on the bed and kissed her good night, pulling off her shoes before walking out and whispering good night to the rest of the girls in the room.

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><p>Carrie woke to the sound of several of the girls giggling, while music drifted from the speakers of her iPod dock.<p>

"Good morning, sleepy!" Rachel squealed as she bounced on empty space of Carrie's mattress.

Carrie pushed the comforter back far enough to growl and glare at Rachel. "Why are you so cheerful? It's early!"

"Be-cause! Tonight is _Prom_!" Bouncing again, Rachel fell and landed on her butt next to the bed as Carrie planted her foot firmly against Rachel's back and pushed. "Ow! That's gonna leave a bruise!"

As she pulled her comforter over her head again, Carrie muttered. "If _tonight_ is Prom; that means this _morning_ is time to sleep."

"Nope!" This time it was Lucy and Sarah that landed on her bed. "Care... we have to get ready! The boys are picking us up to go out to eat... then we're splitting up to do stuff... then back home to get dressed up before they pick us up again for Grand March."

"If we're not dressing up until tonight, why are we getting ready now?" Shoving the comforter back off her head, Carrie sat up and waited for Lucy to reply.

Lucy smiled and held up one finger. "Nails... hands _and _feet." Up went a second finger. "Skin." A third. "Shave... everywhere." A fourth. "Hair." A fifth. "Make-up. Duh."

"Fine." Resigning to her fate, Carrie shoved off her covers and got up, flipping through the music on her iPod while waiting for her turn in one of the two showers in the house.

The upstairs became a whirlwind of girls getting ready. They danced and laughed as they helped each other with nails and hairdos. Carrie wanted to leave her hair mostly down, so she washed it and let it dry while Sarah painted her nails a pale pink. Ramona started to reach out and fuss with her hair, but Carrie's cell phone started to ring, saving her.

"Hello?"

"Hey Care!"

"Embry! Oh man, I am so happy to hear your voice."

"That's good to know. So, are you girls ready to go?"

"I am, but the rest aren't."

"Tell 'em to hurry up; we're picking you all up in a half hour."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie."

Carrie flipped her phone shut and shoved it in her pocket as she turned to her friends. At the news of their deadline, the rest of them quickly dressed and ran down the stairs to meet up with the guys.

Lunch turned out to be cramming into their favorite booth at the diner, laughing and talking until the older ladies on each side of them began to give them the stink-eye. Carrie snuggled into Embry's arms as she looked around at all her friends. It was after they had ordered that she realized that someone was missing.

"Where's Quil?"

"He stayed home. Claimed he didn't want to 'be a third wheel' since he doesn't have a date. _I _think he stayed home because of the new neighbor girl. What was her name again? Andrella?"

"_Gabriella_," Jared supplied from the other end of the table. "I think he's sweet on her."

"Why didn't he ask her to Prom?" Carrie asked.

"Who the hell knows, this _is_ Quil we're talking about. He'll probably pine after her from afar, but never do anything about it, like usual_._"

Sitting back with a sigh, Carrie tried to ignore that feeling that wanted to make her leave and go drag Quil out of the sour mood he was most likely in right now. "Em, can we stop by Quil's and see if he wants to hang out?"

"Sure sweetie."

"Thanks."

After lunch at the diner, Embry and Carrie split off from the group. Before Carrie could ask, Embry drove past Quil's place, slowing down to see if their friend's car was in the driveway. "Well well... would you look at that?"

"What?" Carrie leaned past Embry to look as well. On the broken down front porch of the Ateara home sat Quil and Gabriella, laughing and curled up in a very intimate embrace. "Whoa. Okay, I guess we don't need to rescue Quil from his misery. Let's go before he sees us."

Without another word, Embry continued to drive until he reached the tiny local coffee shop. He pointed to it, one eyebrow raised in question, Carrie nodded and nearly jumped out of the truck before it came to a full stop.

They walked inside and claimed a tiny table before Embry walked up and ordered them both up mochas. His with an extra shot, hers with extra everything. While she waited, Carrie grabbed the Checkers box from the pile of games in the corner and set it up. They passed a few hours relaxing and playing game after game of Checkers until Embry declared Carrie the winner and gave her a piggy-back ride out to his truck.

"What now?" He asked as they drove slowly around the town before aiming for home.

"I still have to finish getting ready for tonight. We've only got a couple hours before Grand March."

Slipping his arm around Carrie's waist and pulling her close, Embry pressed a kiss to her hair. "Exactly _how_ long does it take for you to get all '_prettied up_'? Not that you need it." He chuckled as she blushed and ducked her head to hide behind her hair.

"A while." Because she had avoided letting Lucy and Sarah do it, she still had to fix her hair and do her make-up. It wouldn't take long, but she hoped to relax before they had to join the rest of their classmates at the dance.

"If you say so. Call me when you're about ready so I can get dressed and come get you."

"Okay."

Embry pulled his truck into the driveway. After turning it off, he walked Carrie to her porch. She made it up two steps before he caught her hand and pulled her back down one, turning her back to face him and pressing a light kiss to her lips. "I miss you already," he whispered, his face lighting up with a smile when Carrie laughed at his cheesy line.

An hour and a half later, Carrie waited inside the front hall for Embry to knock. Her phone and other necessities sat tucked away in a small bag at her feet. The boys had told each girl to pack an overnight bag, complete with after-Prom clothes and swimsuit.

Carrie leaned back against the wall daydreaming about Embry and her, in which he was the prince and she was Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her prince to come and find her asleep in the tower. She knew he would ride up on his grey steed, run up the steps, and break down the door to come rescue her from her magical sleep.

A light rapping on the door jolted her from the part where the prince... aka Embry, leaned into brush a kiss on her lips. Her cheeks flushed pink as she looked up to see Embry waiting for her to open the door.

"Good evening, Miss Blackwell. Will you accompany me to the Prom?" Embry smiled up at her mischievously as he bowed and reached for her hand. He lightly kissed the back of it while looking like he was trying not to stare at her.

Carrie tried not to stare as well. His charcoal grey tuxedo accented his shoulders and waist in ways that should be illegal. His black shirt with its moonstone buttons and silver bowtie stood out against his russet skin and white smile. The only flaw in the clothes he wore... the fact that the coattails of his tuxedo covered up his fine ass. She mentally smacked herself to stop her thoughts and answer him. "Why Mr. Call, so nice of you to offer a lady an escort. I would like that, very much."

Gathering up her light grey shawl from its place hanging on the coat rack, Carrie waited as Embry picked up her overnight bag before walking with him to the truck he had pulled into her driveway.

x~x~x

"You look... amazing, breath-taking, beautiful," Embry whispered as they walked together towards the high school's gym. His hand rested on the small of her back for a brief moment before sliding it down to rest on her hip and move so they stood face to face, still several yards from the entrance.

"Em, we have to go inside," Carrie murmured as he lowered his face to hers and tried to capture her lips with his.

"Do we _have to?_" Embry whispered as he took a half step back and glanced towards the open doors. Carrie nodded as she stepped back into his embrace.

"I'm afraid so." As Embry sighed she smiled and caught hold of his hands. "Come on."

Walking into the gym, Carrie caught sight of Sam the same time as Embry did. Her eyes drawn first to his face, then to the girl he stood watching with an expression of love and devotion, Emily Young. She looked like a princess. Her full-length gown was a darker cherry blossom pink, and its fitted top and fluffy, tulle skirt contrasted with the usual plain clothes she often wore. The scalloped edge of her wrap-style bodice, accented by the shimmery silver stitching below, was only outshone by the shimmer of her soft, translucent skirt. Sam's eyes looked away for a moment, stopping to rest on Carrie and Embry. He nodded ever so slightly before leading Emily to a nearby table and sitting down with her wrapped up in his arms.

All around them other couples relaxed as they waited in the hidden back area, behind the cardboard and fabric backdrop that hid the ugly gym walls for the night. Over the quiet laughter, a couple of their teachers called out for specific couples to line up, one on each side of the gym so they would walk to the center, meeting up just before walking through a huge papier-mâché archway to be photographed while friends and family oohed and aahed.

The music started a few minutes later, and the first couple began their walk through the arch while the DJ announced their names. Carrie stood nervous picking at the ribbon of her corsage that Embry has slipped on her right before they parted ways to wait their turn to walk.

"Carrie, it's your turn," Lucy whispered from behind her, giving her a little push with her hand. Startled, Carrie looked up to see Embry advancing towards her, so she followed suit. A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered one thought that nearly stopped her in her tracks. _I wonder if this is what it would be like... at our wedding. _A fierce blush colored her cheek as Embry took her arm and smiled down at her.

"Are you okay, Care?" He whispered as he led her through the arch and down the colored paper aisle. She blushed again as they stopped to let people take their picture.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just thinking about the future."

Embry stood and gazed at her for a moment, his eyes seeming to search her features for an answer she wasn't telling him. "Okay, if that's all..." He squeezed her hand lightly, dropped a light kiss on her lips, and led her past the watching crowd as several people cheered and whistled. When they reached the seating area, which was separated from the walk way by a balloon archway, Embry walked with her to a corner table where some of the others waited for the Grand March to be over so the real fun could begin.

After Grand March, the night flew by for Carrie. She danced with Embry, Jacob, Seth, and even Paul and Jared.

Carrie relaxed against Embry's side, watching other couples dance as they sipped on punch and Embry fed her little bits of snack food, carefully holding his hand under the food so none of it fell onto her dress. Next to them Ramona and Jacob laughed as Jacob tried yet again to slide his hand into the slit in her skirt.

"Jake... stop that!" Ramona whined playfully as she lightly smacked his hand before standing up. "Come on Carrie, I need to fix my dress now that Jake keeps messing with it." She winked and sashayed away from Jacob who reached out to grab her, walking just slow enough that he almost caught her with his fingertips. Carrie stood up with a sigh and followed her sister.

"I take it things are going well with Jake?" Carrie teased as they checked their make-up and dresses for flaws.

"Things are... perfect." Ramona blushed as she smiled and turned to look at Carrie. "He's so sweet... and fun... and unlike how it _appears_, he's the first guy I've dated in high school that's not trying to get into my pants every time we hang out."

Carrie giggled to herself at the image of Jacob actually keeping his hands off of her sister. Ramona loved to tease him to see how long it would take before he would be grabbing her waist, hips, or ass as she walked by in the lunch room and at home. "Yeah, boys are pretty handsy, aren't they?"

Ramona rolled her eyes as she walked back into the dark gymnasium. "Yeah, but you know you love it."

"Every time," Carrie admitted as she looked around after noticing that Embry and Jacob weren't sitting at their table. _YMCA _blared overhead and the kids on the dance floor chanted along to the lyrics. "Oh my gods... Ramona look!" Out in the middle of the crowd, Jared, Paul, Jacob, and Embry danced and did all the motions as the crowd around them cat-called and wolf-whistled. Nearby, Seth and Lucy danced with Sarah while they cheered the boys on. Carrie noticed that Embry had taken off his coat so she could see his tight ass moving to the beat. For a moment, all she wanted to do was walk up behind him and grab two handfuls. She found herself starting to take a step forward when Ramona spoke and jerked her out of her fantasy.

"Boys are... weird," Ramona observed as she watched the spectacle and laughed.

"And we love them anyway," Carrie admitted as the song finished up and crowd around the boys finally dispersed.

"True. Come on; let's go rescue them from themselves."

Carrie nodded and walked over to where Embry stood with Jacob, both of them laughing so hard that they leaned on each other for support. She knew when Embry spotted her, as he practically shoved Jacob into Ramona's arms so he could wrap his around Carrie.

"Hey love, I missed you."

"You didn't look too lonely a minute ago. When did you learn to move like that?" Carrie asked as she slipped her hands around him to wrap tightly around his waist.

"Baby you haven't _seen _all my moves," Embry whispered into her ear before nipping at her earlobe.

Carrie felt the heat of her blush climbing her cheeks as he moved to suck on her neck. "Damn. How long before we can leave?"

"We've got a couple hours, dear," he answered as he quietly laughed.

"Well shit." Burying her face in Embry's neck, Carrie let her hands drop down to slide over his ass, pausing for a moment. Past Embry's shoulder, she noticed Mr. Shelton look at her and shake his head, a smirk on his lips. _Oops... busted! _Moving her hands back to Embry's waist, she relaxed into his arms and sighed.

"Everything alright?" Embry whispered.

"Yup." Carrie would have said more, but just like at the Halloween dance, a whirlwind by the name of Seth interrupted them.

"Dance with me, Care!" Seth requested as he bounced in place and grinned at her.

"Seth, do you ever slow down?" Carrie asked as she pecked Embry on the lips before turning to step into Seth's arms.

"Nope!" Carrie laughed as he picked her up and spun her in a circle before setting her back down again a few feet away from Embry.

"Let me guess, Lucy's in the ladies room?"

"No... I wanted to dance with you again, that's all."

"Awww... Sethie you're so sweet!"

Carrie lost track of time as she laughed with Seth, only noticing that Embry had claimed Lucy as a dance partner after hearing her friend's laughter as Embry dipped her before spinning her around.

"I guess I should let you go," Seth muttered as he watched his friend make his girl giggle to the point she was leaning into him.

"Seth, are you..._ jealous_?" Carrie teased as she leaned into his arms and hugged him close.

"Yeah, a little. Come on, go claim your boy."

Embry looked up as Carrie and Seth walked over to join them. He grinned, spinning Lucy in a circle and letting her go. Seth caught her in mid spin and took her away, leaving Embry and Carrie alone. Without missing a beat, Embry caught Carrie up in his arms and pulled her close. They didn't leave the dance floor until the last dance of the night was announced by the DJ.

As the last dance played, the group slowly gravitated towards the door. They had plans tonight and hoped to claim their usual bonfire pit at the beach before anyone else could steal it. Carrie waved to Ramona as Embry whisked her off to his truck.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to go home?" Embry asked again as he tried to focus on the road ahead, his face flushed dark red. Carrie giggled as she kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her pantyhose.

"I told you, don't look!" Once her legs were bare, she shimmied into a pair of shorts and started to pull her dress over her head. Under the cover of the flowing skirt she changed out of one bra and into another before lifting the skirt up over her head and carefully zipping the dress into its bag. "And no, if I go home mom and dad will be up waiting and decide that they don't want me staying out all night and try to keep me home."

Embry gulped and pried his gaze from the glimpse he caught of her bare stomach, as well as other things. "Carrie... your shirt."

"Oops!" Reaching into her bag again, she pulled out a baby-doll tee and pulled it over her head. It was short enough that Embry could still see a bare expanse of her stomach, which did nothing for his current situation. "Better?"

"A little." He tried to laugh and smile, but he was too busy trying to fight the urge to turn the truck off the main road and find a quiet place in the woods to snuggle with her, amongst other things. Shoving her bag off the bench seat and onto the floor, Carrie scooted over until Embry wrapped an arm around her. "Well, _I_ need to go home. I can't leave this tux in the truck, I need to return it in decent condition on Monday, and I know how crazy these nights can get."

Carrie didn't protest when he turned into his driveway. Instead she followed him into the house with dress in hand. In Embry's room, she hung the garment bag in his closet and collapsed onto his bed, watching intently as he tried to change out of his tux and into some jeans and a t-shirt as quickly as possible. Her fingers twitched when his black boxers appeared. She guessed they were silk by their shine, and the urge to run her the palm of her hand across them to find out was strong.

"Ready?" Embry asked, breaking her out of her musings as he scooped up his bag and held out his hand.

"Ready!" Ignoring his hand, she raced out of his room ahead of him, nearly slipping as she ran down the stairs and out the front door into a light misting rain.

x~x~x

At First Beach, they joined the others who had skipped changing at home to start up the fire and stake their claim on one end of the beach.

"Tent or no tent?" Embry asked as he paused by the bed of his truck.

"No tent, I can handle a little rain if you can keep me warm."

Embry's face flushed in a crimson blush, evident even in the moonlight. "Oh I can keep you warm." The flush faded as he flashed a grin at her and caught up her hand, leading her to the fire where Jacob and Jared threw more logs into the blaze.

"Hey! There they are!" Jacob yelled as Embry and Carrie walked into view. "Did you two get... de-layed?"

Embry laughed and playfully bumped into Jacob to throw him off balance. "No you sick fuck, we did not get 'delayed.' I had to go change outta my monkey suit, that's all." Behind them, Carrie rolled her eyes and went off in search of the girls, peeling off her shoes and socks as she walked. Following the sound of their giggles, she found them a few yards down the beach splashing and laughing, several of them only wearing shorts and bikini tops.

"Carrie!" A chorus of squealed echoed as the girls ran up onto the dry portion of the beach, reaching her a moment later.

"Come on, the water's great!" Lucy giggled, dragging her by the hand towards the surf.

"Hey... I don't have my swimsuit on!" Carrie protested while digging in her heels.

"Why not?" Lucy pouted, her lower lip jutting out while she gave Carrie puppy dog eyes.

It was Carrie's turn to drag Lucy. Together they walked back up the beach to where Embry had dropped their things. "Because I didn't think we'd be swimming in the dark. Does anyone have a tent up so I can change?

"Nope, but we can go further down the beach & guard you from prying boy eyes. Come on." Scooping up Carrie's bag, Lucy ran ahead and called out to the rest of the girls to join them.

Trying to be as quick as she could, Carrie blushed red as she hid behind a tree and the others stood look-out, making sure no boys tried to sneak a peek as Carrie slipped on her fire engine red bikini. After a couple quick checks to make sure she wasn't hanging out anywhere, Carrie pulled on a pair of shorts and shoved everything else into her bag.

"Ready!"

Ramona laughed an evil sounding laugh and grabbed Carrie's hand. "Let's go see if poor Embry has a heart attack when he sees you."

Carrie knew he wouldn't, after all he had seen her shirtless before and survived. Peeling off her shorts however, might just push him over the edge. The little devil on her shoulder poked her with his pitchfork, so she decided to give it a try.

Upon reaching the fire again, the girls heard the sound of someone's radio turned up and noticed that Paul had pulled his truck right up onto the sand and left the back window open. On the tailgate were several coolers with drinks, hot dogs ready to be skewered and roasted, and bags of marshmallows. Carrie watched as Embry turned with two cans of pop in hand, and looked for her in the crowd of girls.

"Whoa," he whispered as he slowly approached her.

"Embry Joseph Call, haven't you seen a girl in a bikini before?" Carrie teased.

"Yes, but... sorry, you... you look _good_."

Carrie laughed and danced out of his reach as he tried to balance both pop cans with one hand and reach for her with the other. "I was thinking of going swimming, care to join me?"

Embry nodded and dropped both cans into the sand for someone else to find, following her like a lost puppy as she walked backwards towards the surf. "Those shorts had better come off," he warned her.

"Why? So you can dunk me like you did the first time?" When Embry nodded she sighed and turned her back on him, just like last time, and shimmied out of her shorts. No sooner had the fabric pooled onto the sand at her feet than she was scooped up and Embry was running for the waves. Anticipating his actions, Carrie took a deep breath and waited.

They stopped in waist deep water, but he didn't dunk them under. Instead, he moved further down the beach, away from the glow of the fire until they were bathed in moonlight. One arm held her tight, his hand gripping her waist, while his other brushed along her cheek to push a lock of hair from her eyes. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hi." Carrie reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, one hand cupping the back of his head to pull him down to meet her halfway in a kiss. Their mouths moved together slowly, savoring their stolen moment together until the group discovered them missing and came looking. Though, knowing this bunch they would assume the worst and start throwing condoms into the darkness instead. Carrie started shivering after a few minutes, so Embry lifted her higher up in his arms and walked back to the fire.

When they reached the roaring flames, Carrie giggled and pointed across the way. Embry turned and silently cheered to see Quil and Gabriella snuggled up in a blanket, talking to Lucy and Seth. "Quil! Dude!" Dragging Carrie with him, Embry jogged around the fire and dropped down next to Quil, leaning past him to smile at Gabriella. "Couldn't find anyone better to spend Prom night with, huh?" He winked and laughed, diving backwards off the log before Quil could swing at his head. "Oh come on, Q. I've got nothing but love for ya!"

"Whatever, Call. You'd better run or I'll beat your ass." He stood up, kissed Gabriella on the cheek, and jumped over the log. As Embry ran down the rocky beach, Quil followed, laughing and cursing as he chased him.

"Boys," Carrie sighed, settling down next to Quil's new squeeze.

"Yeah, boys," Gabriella whispered, looking over her shoulder, a far off look in her eyes.

_Did I look like that when I was falling for Embry? _Carrie asked herself as she laughed lightly. "So sexy, but soooo stupid sometimes."

"Agreed." Together, they watched as Embry ran back their direction, Quil a few feet behind and still cursing.

"Em! Wolfman! Get your cute butts back here!" Carrie yelled. Down the beach, both boys howled and laughed, their minor quarrel already over as they turned around and walked back to the bonfire.

Eventually, the drizzling rain quit, the clouds dissipated, and the stars appeared. As the stars wheeled slowly across the sky, the fire died down, and couples slowly slipped off into the darkness; finding tents, blankets, or the sand to stretch out on. Embry pulled Carrie into his arms as they watched Seth and Lucy slip into the darkness, giggling and pointing out constellations above their heads.

"Did you want me to get the tent?" Embry asked again as they relaxed against each other. "Or at least a sleeping bag?"

"A sleeping bag would be nice," Carrie admitted, not wanting to sleep on the cold, hard ground, but not wanting to go home either.

"You got it." Embry slipped off into the night, leaving Carrie to watch the stars alone.

"Carrie!" Spinning around, Carrie found Jacob walking up, a grin on his face.

"Hey Jake."

"Hey, so... I'm not gonna assume anything, but I wanted to give you this while Em's not around." Flipping something into her lap, Jacob grinned and turned away, walking back to where Ramona stood waiting for him. Carrie glanced down and felt her cheeks burn bright red. Jacob had tossed a box of condoms into her lap.

"Whatcha got there, sweetie?" Embry asked as he walked up to see her staring down at it.

"A gift from Jake," she whispered, throwing the box at him. Since both hands were holding on to the sleeping bag, Embry juggled his hold on it, catching the box as it hit his chest. Carrie knew when he recognized the box when his cheeks flared as red as hers.

"Damn, I can't decide if I want to thank him or kick his ass."

"Decide later, I'm cold."

Together they unrolled the sleeping bag, setting it up out of range of the fire's embers, but close enough for warmth. Carrie didn't notice when it happened, but at some point the condoms disappeared. Embry motioned for Carrie to get in first, slipping in behind her to pull her into his warm arms.

"Comfortable?" He whispered into her ear.

"Very," Carrie whispered back, already feeling her eyelids grow heavy and droop until they closed and she drifted off to sleep.

x~x~x

Carrie sat with Ramona, squealing and screaming as Jacob and Embry crossed the stage one after another to receive their diplomas from the principle. "Go Jacob! Go Embry!" Next to them, their parents sighed and sat back to watch their daughters with smiles on their faces. Both the girls continued to scream as first Jacob, then Embry tipped their mortarboards to show the tops off, the girls' names written across them in duct tape.

Ramona dropped back down next to her mom and smiled happily. "Hey mom..."

"Yes you can go out tonight with the boys to the parties. Just be home before dawn, please."

"Thanks mom, you're the best!" Ramona gave her mom a hug, nearly tackling her to the bleacher bench before letting go.

"Whatever. Just don't get pregnant," she teased. Beside her, Mr. Blackwater coughed and sputtered. "Oh relax dear."

After the graduates walked out to the usual boring music, Carrie and Ramona raced down the bleachers to find Embry, Jacob, and the others.

"Congrats baby!" Carrie squealed and wrapped her arms around Embry from behind, kissing his cheek even as he shook yet another parent's hand.

"Thanks sweets. Did your mom okay hanging out tonight."

"Yup, as long as I don't get pregnant!" She laughed as Embry sputtered like her father had, his eyes nearly bulging out his head as someone's grandmother glared at them both and huffed away.

"Dammit girl, warn a guy before you mention that word!" Ignoring the next person in line, Embry spun and hugged Carrie, tickling her even as he spun her in a circle.

As soon as the crowd of well-wishers cleared, Carrie and Embry jumped into his truck and headed for the party. Rather than making their moms each throw a party and suffering alone, the boys agreed that they only needed one party, a giant shin-dig at Jacob's house. The plan was to go to everyone else's places to say their hellos and goodbyes before going back to the Black's around ten that night and starting up the party. Jacob, Paul, Jared, Quil, and Embry had determined that it would be easier and more fun to spend their night that way. They tried to get Kim, Rachel, and Leah to join them, but the girls wanted their parties to be more traditional, wall of embarrassing baby pictures and all.

Carrie and Embry hit every party they could before stumbling into Jacob's backyard around 10:15, Carrie riding piggy-back and Embry weaving and ducking through the trees. Behind them, more vehicles pulled in on the grass and along the street, making it hard to drive down the street without weaving around other vehicles. Carrie suspected that this would be _the party _to be at tonight. Music spilled out of speakers propped up in the windows of Jacob's room, and a fire blazed in the pit at the back edge of the yard.

Already exhausted from the long day, Carrie claimed a lawn chair for them to lounge on while Embry grabbed two plates of food. The yard looked to be full of half of the student body and several of the teachers. They relaxed in a mish-mash of groups, some dancing some looking to be in serious discussions, but everywhere you looked people were having fun.

When Embry returned with food, Carrie sat and ate the finger foods with one hand while rubbing Embry's neck with the other. She laughed when he muttered something she couldn't quite hear. "What was that?" She asked, leaning forward to hear him better over the music.

"I said... 'Marry Me,'" Embry replied, leaning back to speak into her ear.

"How many dates have we been on?" Carrie asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Umm... one almost every weekend since mid-September... so... a lot." Embry looked at her, confusion on his features.

"Well then, I guess that's more than two. Yes, as long as we wait until I'm eighteen." She watched his face as he processed her reply.

"I don't have a ring," he whispered, turning and leaning in to rest his head on her shoulder.

"That's okay, you'll get one eventually. You've got two years, start saving up."

Embry chuckled as he pressed his face into her neck. Little did she know, he was now determined to start doing just that. Yes, he was only eighteen himself, but sometimes you have to go with your gut, and he didn't plan on letting Carrie get away. Two years from now, at her graduation party, he hoped to be presenting her a ring.

Carrie giggled and squealed, trying to push Embry away playfully as he nibbled on her neck. Over his shoulder she noticed someone she wasn't expecting to see at the party. Sam Uley. He smiled at her and nodded, taking a step forward before hesitating and starting to turn away. "Embry, stop it. Sit up," she whispered. "Look who's here." Even as she whispered, she smiled at Sam and waved him over.

Next to her, Embry stiffened as he looked in the same direction she was facing. "Fuck."

"Calm down and hear him out," she encouraged, catching Embry's hand and squeezing it.

Sam took the last few steps towards them, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the ground for a moment before glancing nervously at Embry. "Can we talk?" Embry nodded and stood, his hand resting on Carrie's shoulder to prevent her from following. She watched as they crossed the yard to the quiet edge of the forest, both leaning on a tree and staring at the other until Sam looked like he got up the courage to speak. Carrie wished she could hear what they were saying.

Trying to give them a little more privacy, she looked away to see who all had made it to the party. It seemed like half the high school populace stood in the yard and spilled out onto the street. At one of the refreshment tables, Emily picked at a tray of snacks and glanced over at Sam and Embry before looking over at Carrie. With a shy wave, Carrie motioned Emily over and shifted to give her room to sit on the lawn chair.

"Hi," Emily offered as she sat down on the edge, balancing her plate carefully on her knees.

"Hey," Carrie offered back.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Emily asked, correctly assuming that Carrie knew the situation as well.

"I think so; they just needed time to come to terms with it." Together, Carrie and Emily sat and watched the boys while trying to act like they weren't, picking at their food and sipping their drinks. Both breathed sighs of relief when Embry held out a hand to Sam. Sam took it, and not only shook Embry's hand, but pulled him into a man-hug. When the boys returned to where the girls sat waiting, they gave each other one last hesitant smile before catching Emily and Carrie by the hands to go their separate ways.

x~x~x

Surrounded by suitcases and trunks, Embry pushed his way through the mess in his room to the window. Tomorrow was a big day; he and his mom were going to Seattle to settle him into college. He'd been excited about the adventure, ready for it in every way, until now. "Please be awake, please be awake," Embry muttered as he reached the window and pulled back his curtain. He couldn't see a light on in Carrie's room, but he wrote a note and clipped it to the line anyway, making sure the clip would click against the window to alert her when he sent the note to her window. To make sure she heard it, he pulled the note back and forth a few times to make some more noise. "Please be awake," he muttered again, waiting and watching. He grinned and tried not to do a happy dance when Carrie appeared in her window, pushing it up and grabbing the note. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she read.

She smiled over at him, nodding and yawning as she stepped back into the shadows of her room. Moving as quickly as he could, Embry gathered up his iPod and a jacket. Carrie was sure to forget hers in such a sleepy state. He ran down the stairs two at time to avoid the ones that creaked, landing at the bottom nearly soundlessly and sprinting for the back door.

Outside he ran and launched himself over the hedge with ease, having done the same motions so many times over the last year that he had lost count. On the back porch, Carrie stood watching him.

"Hi," he whispered, gathering her up in his arms and walking back to the shadows near the woods.

"Hey," Carrie muttered into his hair, her face buried into it. When he tried to lift her up to see her face, she wrapped her arms around his neck and stayed hidden.

"Everything okay?" It wasn't like Carrie to not look at him; she only did that when she was freaking out over something.

She nodded into his hair, so he gave up the battle and set her down on her feet. Without a word he pulled out his iPod, setting one earpiece into her ear, and the other in his own. They began to sway to the mix he had made her months ago for her birthday, relaxing into each other's arms as the familiar songs played on. Embry wasn't sure when it happened, but at some point it started to rain, but they danced on.

An unknown time later, Carrie lifted her face from his chest. "I never did properly thank you, did I?"

Embry paused, confused, and reached out to tilt her face up so he could see her eyes. "For what, sweetie?"

Carrie smiled a sweet smile up at him and whispered, "For giving me a ride home."

There were no words for what Embry felt at that sweet statement. Instead, he leaned down and responded in the only way that felt right. As they stood in the rain and danced, he captured her lips in a kiss.

THE END


End file.
